FROLITICKS

Satirical commentary on Canadian and American current political issues

Jun 19

Worldwide Crises Appear To Want To Come In Bundles of Threes

by bcurry

There’s nothing like stating the obvious. 2020 has been a crazy year so far.  Humans are facing the greatest health and economic crises since the influenza outbreak of 1918-19 and the great depression of the early thirties.  In the meantime, the global issue of climate change is still on the table.  To complicate matters, recent shootings by police of black and indigenous people in the U.S., Canada and elsewhere has led to a resurgence of “black lives matter” and the need for examination of systemic racism by governments and corporations. Despite fears over the on-going coronavirus pandemic, protests against anti-black racism emerged around the world.

As with the recent growth in support of tackling climate change issues, there has obviously been a major change in support for dealing with systemic racism and in particular the use of force by police and the authorities against marginalized groups. The spread of COVID-19 has particularly negatively affected various marginalized groups in proportion to their statistical share of the general population.  The economic lockdown of many sectors has also disproportionately affected those same groups as indicated by unemployment and poverty stats.  Vulnerable seniors in long-term care have unfortunately been the most affected by the pandemic as evidenced by the fact that in many states and provinces they represent around ninety percent of the related deaths.  This is a clear negative outcome of the inadequate warehousing of and continuing poor health care for seniors that took place over the last fifty or sixty years.

Young people today are also bearing the brunt of dealing with climate change, the downturn in the economy, systemic racism and future employment changes. As a member of the boomer generation, I do not envy their multitude of challenges.  As a society, we must recognize that the younger generation will require all the support that can be provided, regardless of the costs.  Once we are through with the various impacts of the pandemic, if ever, societies will have to seek out a “new normal”.  This will take a concerted effort on the part of individuals, communities, organizations, governments, international bodies, and many others.  Changes are inevitable.

Unfortunately, uncertain times as these can be overwhelming for people. Often, there is a desire to return to the way it was in the past — a form of “unrealistic nostalgia”. There will no doubt be opposition to far-reaching societal change.  If there is one thing that these crises have done is to force us to recognize the urgent need for real changes.  Simply talking about the issues is not longer acceptable, especially for future leaders.  Recent collective reactions to all three crises, including the emergence of global movements, are clear evidence of the growing desire for action and real change.

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Jun 11

Trump’s Strange Saga of U.S. and Denmark Over the Purchase of Greenland

by bcurry

With everything going on in the world today, maybe one needs a minor distraction like the battle of Donald Trump over the purchase of Greenland by the U.S.  About a year ago, Trump approached the Danish P.M., Mette Frederiksen, with an offer to buy Greenland which is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Thinking it was some kind of April Fool’s Day joke, the Danes refused. Unfortunately, like so many times before Trump took the refusal to even consider the idea a sign of disrespect and immediately cancelled his planned September 2019 trip to Denmark — one which had been at the formal invitation of Queen Margrethe, Denmark’s head of state. Needless-to-say, this did not go over well with the Danes who after all are an important NATO ally.

Greenland is the world’s largest island and has a population of less than 60,000 inhabitants. Denmark contributes two thirds of Greenland’s budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing. Greenland is noted for its vast tundra and immense glaciers. While the country has a vast array of minerals, including rare-earth elements used for electronic, military and new energy technologies like wind turbines, these are very difficult to mine in its harsh environment.

As a strategic location, Greenland was important to the U.S. during the Cold War as evidenced by American military presence at the Thule Air Base under a U.S.-Danish treaty dating to 1951. However, in this day and age of new military capabilities, including those in space, Greenland would not be considered anymore as a strategic importance. Then there’s those rare earths, most of which currently come from China. Experts believe that the environmental impact of mining for rare earths is profound and extremely costly.  Even if it was to happen, the process to get new mining operations off the ground takes decades.

However, despite the Danish rejection to what Trump referred to as one “big real-estate” deal,   the Trump administration has opened a consulate in Greenland for the first time in nearly 70 years. In a further extension of U.S. influence, Greenland announced at the end of April that it had accepted an offer of US$12.1 million for mining, tourism and education. There is little doubt that Trump is keen to expand the U.S. presence in the entire Arctic region amid fears of growing Russian and Chinese militarization. The U.S. recently announced its intention to create a new fleet of ice-breaking ships for use in the Arctic.

As for Canada, Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert located on Ellesmere Island is the northernmost settlement in the world. With the end of the Cold War and the advent of new technologies allowing for remote interpretation of data, the over-wintering population has been reduced to 62 civilians and military personnel as of 2016. I guess that the location for an American base on Ellesmere Island is not as popular as one in Greenland, although the two islands are geographically at an identical latitude. The new consulate in Greenland has once again made for strange bedfellows.

Canada, as a near-Artic country and member of The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), conducts aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.  For this reason, Canada has been wary of Chinese and Russian threats to expand in the region, and like the U.S. is also building a new fleet of ice-breaking ships for use in the Arctic.  Rather than worry about relations with Greenland, maybe Trump should be working more closely with Canada to safeguard our Artic waters.

 

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Jun 4

While Thousands Protest Racism, Who’s Protesting Against Ageism?

by bcurry

While one can certainly empathize with the protesters over the recent murder of a black man by police and continuing racism in America, there is another large group of people who deserve an equal amount of empathy in this day and age. They are our seniors, and their numbers are growing.  Recent statistics in Canada show that the older cohort – the baby boomers and gen-Xers – represent nearly 45 percent of Canada’s population, or 16,753,198 people.  By 2030, Statistics Canada estimates it will be 46.5 percent, or 19,461,400 people.  The stats are somewhat similar in the U.S.  In the not too distant future, one out of four Canadians will be over the age of 65.  Yet, discrimination against seniors continues because of “ageism”.

In 2,011, a disturbing survey in the United Kingdom of adults who were over 18 revealed that two out of five young people aged between 18 and 24 believed that there were not enough jobs for older people to continue working. Fourteen percent felt that older people should retire to make way for young blood.  Even more shocking, seven out of ten young people did not consider older relatives to be an important part of the family, while ten percent considered it a chore to go and see them.  Researchers often refer to such attitudes as ageism and rightly so.

For years, North Americans have been warehousing the majority of their elderly citizens. Seniors have been ushered away from families and communities into retirement and so-called long-term care residences.  Unfortunately, many of these residences were built in the early seventies when the idea was to accommodate as many residents as possible into one facility, regardless of conditions resulting in overcrowding.  Today, the pandemic has illustrated how such warehousing unfortunately has often led to deaths representing more than eighty percent of COVID-19 related deaths in the general population.  Politicians are now raving that the numbers are inexcusable and horrific, especially for those thousands housed in long-term care.  Where were they years ago when several studies outlined ongoing problems with staff shortages, inadequate resident care and government standards, and lack of affordable accommodation and health care?

More and more seniors are being forced to continue working because of living near the poverty line and a lack of retirement savings. However, many employers continue to discriminate against the hiring of seniors for indefensible reasons, despite all the experience and skills such persons can bring to a job.  This again is a form of overt ageism.  Maybe it’s time that we have a real national ‘Grey Pride’ movement.  Sometimes the elderly have difficulties in speaking for themselves.  Maybe the time has come for all citizens to force governments to address the serious issues surrounding ageism in society.  The time for lip service is long gone, the time for action is now.  After all, the reality is that we have ageing populations, whether we believe it or not.

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May 24

Even Young Adults can Become Seriously Ill from COVID-19

by bcurry

With the Memorial weekend in the U.S. and summer-like weather in Canada, we have witnessed hundreds of people gathering in parks and on beaches to celebrate the lowering of restrictions in many outdoor recreational areas. The problem is that they are not adhering to physical distancing measures in many cases. It would appear that the vast majority of the people are young adults who appear to believe that they are less vulnerable to this highly contagious disease. The typical infected person infects nearly three others, according to researchers at Imperial College London, one of the world’s highest rates. The experts also have additional news for you: young adults aren’t completely invulnerable or invincible for that matter. While statistically the biggest concern is still with persons over sixty who have underlying health issues, the evidence has shown that adult males between twenty and fifty can experience serious health issues from COVID-19. Some even have to be hospitalized and can end up on ventilators where the survival rate is very low.

In developing countries with more poverty and fewer resources, younger people who might have survived elsewhere are instead dying. It has been reported that in Brazil, 15 percent of deaths have been people under 50 — a rate more than 10 times greater than in Italy or Spain. In Mexico, the trend is even more stark. Nearly one-fourth of the dead have been between 25 and 49. In India, officials reported this month that nearly half of the dead were younger than 60. For the poor and marginalized groups, health care services are limited if not unavailable. In addition, similar to developed countries, the population is experiencing a surge in the rates of diabetes, obesity and hypertension. Once again, in these countries, treatment for many such illnesses is lacking.

With the reopening of the economy and recreational facilities, young North Americans must understand the risks involved with not adhering to social distancing. Large gatherings of people in close proximity to one another cannot and should not be tolerated or condoned.  Such behaviour is disrespectful to both the community and frontline personnel risking their lives every day in the war against COVID-19.  We owe it to these brave people to do our fair share by following all the measures that health authorities have mandated and recommended.  Unlike in developing countries, we are fortunate to have half decent health care systems.  The stringent controls that states, provinces and municipalities put in place appear to be working.  However, recent indications in certain states and provinces have shown a surge in the rates of confirmed cases.  Failure to respect social distancing more than likely will lead to an increase in cases in the coming weeks, and possibly further COVID-related deaths.

There is no excuse for the selfish and irrational behaviour among young adults witnessed this past weekend. We can only hope that people, especially young adults, will realize this and adjust their behaviour accordingly in the future as even more freedoms are restored.  Otherwise, the authorities will have to once again take more draconic measures to counteract such troubling attitudes and the subsequent inappropriate actions.  After all, regrettably we are coming up to 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. and 7,000 deaths in Canada by the end of May. Think about it!

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May 19

U.S. and Canadian Health Officials Knew in January 2020 about Possible Pandemic

by bcurry

Let’s face it, early on health officials were aware of potential issues regarding the major outbreak in China of a new virus, especially after their experiences with SARS and H1N1. Blaming Chinese authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) for withholding information is simply looking for an escape goat.  In a very short period of time, the WHO went from declaring an epidemic to a potential global pandemic.  Unfortunately, many governments, including the U.S. and Canada, reacted somewhat slowly. It took time before flights to and from Asia and Europe were cancelled and borders closed to non-citizens. Apparently, there were pandemic-preparedness plans in place, but authorities were ill equipped to implement them or simply ignored them.  Essential stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) were either inadequate or expired. Ventilators were in short supply.  Lockdown measures took time to implement.

In order to protect the health care system from becoming overloaded, most governments finally ordered economic and institutional shutdowns. They had no choice but to contain the coronavirus, especially as so-called hot spots emerged.  However, in the case of the U.S., President Donald Trump began talking privately as early as mid-March about reopening the nation, despite the swiftly rising number of coronavirus cases and against the advice of health professionals. The administration’s top health authorities had warned that in the absence of any viable medical treatment and adequate testing, sustained and economically painful restrictions on daily life were the only way to beat the virus.  In some situations, this remains the case.

The authorities have had several examples in other countries of the effectiveness of certain lockdown measures, such as in Taiwan and South Korea. Given the success to date of these examples, there is little excuse for U.S. and Canadian authorities not to continue to follow the appropriate health and safety measures, including physical distancing. It’s all very nice and well to suggest that business closures are detrimental to our liberties and freedoms, but the fact is that the health and safety of entire societies are at risk.  We have already seen the potential for second waves of the virus in several countries, suggesting that a careful and gradual reopening of certain economic activities is called for.  The health authorities and researchers know this.  You’d think that the politicians would listen to expert advice and implement measures accordingly.  People’s actual lives are at stake!

It doesn’t help anyone to blame others for our current status or for past mistakes. Optimistically, once we have this pandemic under control there will be plenty of time to review what happened prior to and during the pandemic.  Hopefully, the goal of any independent domestic and international reviews will have an aim of ensuring that future pandemics will be better dealt with.  They should not be to simply assess and issue blame for political expediencies.  After all, there is plenty of blame to go around!

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May 14

With Reopening the Economy, There Will be a Second Wave of COVID-19 Outbreaks

by bcurry

As many parts of the world, including Canada and the United States, explore ways to ease restrictions aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19, some countries that had already opened up are closing down again after renewed spikes in infections. According to recent reports, countries such as Germany, Lebanon, Iran and South Korea are reimposing certain restrictions such as shutdowns because of new outbreaks of the coronavirus in some areas.  Once people are allowed to frequent shopping and recreation areas, there is always the danger of increased exposure to virus contamination resulting in community outbreaks.

It has even been reported that in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged, authorities ordered the testing of its 11 million inhabitants after a cluster of six new infections emerged, five weeks after the city had apparently rid itself of the disease. Although it is understandable that certain Canadian provinces and American states are anxious to reopen parts of their economies, experts increasingly believe that the coronavirus will be around for months if not years.  With increased human activity, second and third waves are bound to occur.  Even an eventual vaccine or the growing emergence of temporary immunity may not be sufficient to prevent such outcomes.

This is why the original shutdowns were essential to prevent the immediate impact on the health care system in terms of treating those with COVID-19 health issues and reducing the number of related deaths. Our slow reopening of the economy and continuation of containment measures is designed to allow health care workers and front-line authorities to deal with outbreaks over the longer-term.  Wherever future hot spots do occur in communities, there is little doubt that restrictions, including lockdowns and social distancing rules, will most likely have to be reimposed. That is if common sense prevails!

Everyone wants to avoid future massive outbreaks like those that happened in New York City, Los Angeles County, Montreal (Quebec) and Washington State. Unfortunately, in some cases the situation has become increasingly politicized instead of remaining one viewed in a health and safety terms.  Leaders need to base their decisions on reliable data and science-based projections.  By failing to do so, we will be right back to square one and will have lost all of the valuable gains that were won by the initial measures aimed at limiting coronavirus transmission within the community.

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May 11

Children’s Mental Health is Still a Major Concern During the Pandemic Shutdown

by bcurry

Among the first institutions to be shutdown as the result of the pandemic were our schools. All of a sudden, our children had their normal routines turned upside down.  Back in March, I blogged about the risk to kids’ mental health: Mental Health Of Children Is Still A Major Concern During Pandemic Shutdown 05 20.doc. For two months now, children have been kept home from school, trying to learn online, being entertained and worried about the financial and health risks to their parents. Fear and isolation can be major contributors to mental illness. A recent survey (May 2020) by the Angus Reid Institute in Canada showed that children (aged 10 to 17) are starting to display certain concerning attitudes and behaviors when it comes to staying at home. Believe it or not, not only are they bored but many are ready to go back to school, if only to see their friends in person. Realistically, in most provinces and states, the current school year is unfortunately finished.

There is only so much TV/streaming media content and playing video games that kids can take! Texting and telephoning friends and spending time on social media was O.K. at the start, but kids would now rather meet up with their friends and teachers face-to-face. There is little doubt that an increasing degree of boredom and stress is setting in. Online learning is not what it was hoped to be, and is certainly no substitute for classroom instruction and one-on-one expert assistance.

Then there are the parents. For those working from home, it’s difficult and stressful times, especially when caring for toddlers. They are finding that working and home schooling can be very demanding. For those parents who are unemployed, just paying the bills has become a major issue. Kids pick up on their parents’ anxieties. Thankfully, although children are less vulnerable to serious virus-related health issues, the household tension is worse if parents or other household members do become sick with the virus. Just complying with all the additional precautions that must be taken can be a major stressor for kids. After all, it’s not their fault that they can be significant transmitters of the disease.

One cannot envy parenting under these challenging circumstances. Trying to implement a fairly normal and balanced routine in the household is not easy for adults. Imagine what it’s like for kids? Hopefully as more and more facilities are slowly and cautiously opened, families will be able to expand their activities beyond their homes. Exercise and getting outdoors are keys to maintaining one’s mental and physical health. This is especially true for our children.

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May 6

Due to the economy lockdown, some are actually saving money

by bcurry

While many people are being hurt financially, especially those unemployed or underemployed because of the current economy shutdown in many non-essential industry sectors, others who have continued to be employed and paid their regular wages are actually saving money. This includes those persons who are still comfortably working and bringing in the same income as they did in pre-pandemic times, but who have seen their expenses forcibly slashed. For example, some workers are working from home and thus saving on the cost of commuting to and from work.

With many businesses still closed, we are saving money by not eating in restaurants and going to bars, theatres and gyms. Although some food such as meats will cost more in the short term, we are saving by cooking more at home and making our provisions go further than usual.  Households in some regions are getting a further break by having electricity rates temporarily calculated based on off-peak times.  Travel and vacations have been put on hold, again reducing major expenditures.

The U.S. has already seen its savings rate rise, with the Bureau of Economic Analysis reporting that it surged from eight percent in February to 13.1 percent in March — the highest level since 1981. What are those fortunate enough to put aside monies doing or planning to do with their new found savings?  Some possibilities are:

  • bolstering their investment portfolios
  • building up emergency funds
  • building up down payment funds faster than they initially intended so that they can purchase a first home
  • paying down credit debt, including student loan debt, which was at record levels prior to the pandemic
  • paying down more quickly the principal on mortgage payments
  • putting more money into retirement funds
  • setting up education savings plans for children
  • etc. , etc.

The next real question to emerge is whether and how all these savings will be used once the planned reopening of non-essential businesses occurs? Will people play catch-up in terms of foregone expenditures?  How long will it take for people to be comfortable enough to restart spending on such things as eating out, entertainment, travel and accumulated vacation time?  How will the housing market be affected in light of the current slow real-estate conditions?  Will consumer spending, normally representing seventy percent of Gross Domestic Product, pick up quickly or slowly with the economy’s reopening?  Will this take weeks or months?  There is little doubt that those financially vulnerable during temporary work interruptions, despite receiving government transfers, will not be able to help revive the economy in the short-term. Indeed, much will depend on whether they will have future employment and whether their employers will still be in business.  There are many questions and few answers.  In these uncertain times, only time will tell.

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May 3

A Little Light-Hearted Look At Social Distancing During The Pandemic

by bcurry

As a retiree, but as one who could have worked from home, I’ve experienced what millions are going through as a result of social distancing due to COVID-19. There is a whole industry that has evolved to keep people entertained, active and creative while sheltering in place.  Imagine what it would have been like without the Internet, cable television and on-line shopping!  We have developed a number of important new social behaviours which among others include:

  • No more hand shaking. Instead one can touch elbows or simply bow like the Japanese do.
  • When welcoming relatives or friends, absolutely no kissing on the cheeks two or three times depending on your culture. Instead, one can blow a kiss, but not too hard so as not to spread germs.
  • No more hugs. Make a hugging motion with your upper torso at an appropriate distance of two meters or six feet when in the S.
  • To show affection, one can use sign language in the form of a heart shaped two-handed manoeuvre.
  • Sharing a milkshake using two straws is definitely out of the question.
  • Speak in a low monotone voice and avoid shouting so as to limit spraying others, or as our Prime Minister referred to as “speaking moistly”.
  • Wear the latest fashion styles in face masks, but nothing too scary in order to differentiate between you and bank robbers.
  • For those of us who have hair, consider going with your new hair style à la mode de prehistoric humans. How about a man bun? Otherwise, find a right-sized bowl to work with.
  • Carry a small can of sanitizer spray to immediately clean paper currency upon receipt from vendors.
  • Find a new hobby, like carving historical figures out of paper cups or potatoes. In the case of food shortages keep the potatoes handy.
  • Keep your pet dog well away, perhaps several more meters, from other people walking their dogs. Normal interaction among dog owners and their dogs is particularly forbidden. I never knew that there were so many dog owners in our neighbourhood!  Where’d they all come from?
  • When encountering a situation of “road rage” while driving, keep your car windows shut and use hand signals where appropriate.
  • Continue to physically exercise in order to help maintain your mental health. By this I do not mean improving elbow and arm conditioning while drinking alcoholic beverages.
  • Do not sanitize food that has arrived via home delivery from local eateries. This will not help to improve the quality of the meal and may negatively affect one’s taste buds.
  • Under the current circumstances, patience has truly become a virtue. Certain shut-downs and restrictions will continue for some time. Remove all calendars from the household.

These are just a few of the tips that I have to offer during these tough times of social distancing. Just remember, there are always others who are in even more challenging situations.  Those of us who can help, should do so by donating to or volunteering at food banks, shelters and health care facilities.  A lot of people, including those on the front-lines, are working every day so that the rest of us can stay at home and be safe.  As the English would say, keep a stiff upper lip. Keep on smiling.

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Apr 29

Is electronic coronavirus tracing the straw that broke the back of individual privacy

by bcurry

We have now learned that Australia and several Scandinavian countries have introduced coronavirus tracing apps for peoples’ smart phones and mobile devices. The apps are apparently designed to help medical workers and state governments trace close contacts of COVID-19 patients. Although in countries like Australia downloading the tracking app is not mandatory, there is still the concern that the state and authorities could potentially employ such apps for other purposes. What does such tracing mean for the privacy of individuals and in turn for individual rights? Where is the concept of individual responsibility in all of this — particularly where up to now most people have voluntarily complied with self-isolation and “physical distancing” measures.

Human nature, being what it is, self-preservation is a normal condition for survival. For example, in today’s society, earning a living and providing for one’s family is a major and real preoccupation. Until now, the health authorities in democracies have relied on each individual to monitor their health for any signs of possible COVID-19 symptoms. If sick, individuals are then asked to self-isolate. However, there is an issue with testing where even those who may have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic have not been given priority for testing, except where essential services are involved. As a result, many asymptomatic COVID-19 cases go undetected and would defeat the ultimate purpose of coronavirus tracing. What does one do in the case of “negative-positives”?

In order for tracking to be effective, almost everyone would first need to be tested — an apparent impossibility under the concern circumstances and lack of testing capability and reliability. Once the economy is allowed to open up, people will want to either continue working or return to employment.  Hence the need for self-preservation superseding the needs of the community.  No amount of tracing will be useful in this case.  People in these cases will be reluctant to get tested, even if testing were available.  As we’ve seen in the U.S., some people are willing to risk their health and that of others in order to open up the economy and return to their livelihoods.

Then there are those who have no mobile devices to download such apps. What does one do in those cases — wear an electronic ankle brace like a criminal under house arrest or confined to a specified area.  This would represent the ultimate Big Brother approach!  Hello 1984.  Up to now, the majority of citizens have agreed to business and government closures.  In some instances, our civil rights and liberties have been affected in order to support of community health and safety.  How far are we willing to go in relinquishing our civil rights and notably the right to individual privacy?  Given that this is an imperfect system, how do we ensure that the state does not overstep the use of electronic tracking?  Do uncertain benefits really outweigh the possible costs to our freedom?

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