We are the world

Its been quite a week, hasn't it? Even here in Saskatoon, the George Floyd rally on Thursday was attended by hundreds of people, all races and colours. 

And its been like this all around the world. Yes, we have seen Black Lives Matter and police abuse protests before, but this time it feels different. I am amazed that protests about the Floyd homicide have been continuing day after day, and that they have spread so far, so fast.

  

So now I am wondering if our shared COVID-19 pandemic experience has changed us in ways we could not have predicted.

For the first time in history, all of the peoples of the world shared the same experience - a two-month shutdown that was virtually unique in our human experience. 

Yes, we were forced to be alone and isolated. We couldn't go out, we couldn't see our family and friends. But everyone around the world was, for the first time ever, dealing with the same emotions, the same fears, the same questions and concerns, the same depths of despair, the same glimmers of hope. 

After this experience, I think the peoples of the world understand each other in a more profound way than we ever did before. 

And perhaps this is why now millions of us are on the same side of these protests.  We get it.

People are standing up in solidarity for Black Lives Matter and against police brutality, in numbers I have never seen before  - generals are apologizing for ever working with Trump, sports leaders like Sydney Crosby are speaking up, Harry and Meghan are too, bike manufactures are suspending sales to police, corporations are making statements, even the NFL is apologizing for the way they treated Kaepernick.  

Wow. Its truly remarkable. This is the way the world changes.

I’ve been watching politics closely for a long time, and I’ve never seen any entity get its ass kicked as badly in a PR/political battle as the country’s metro police are right now.

Only rival is the Catholic Church, and both relied on their wide popularity for their power.

— Martin Longman (@BooMan23) June 5, 2020

Journalists under attack

 

In his daily CNN newsletter, Brian Stelter gives a summary of some of the attacks made on journalists over the last few days in the George Lloyd protests across the US:

[there have been a] shocking number of cases of reporters being assaulted and arrested while covering the unrest. This wasn't just a stray rubber bullet here or there -- it seemed, to a lot of people, like targeting of journalists, by both police and in some cases by unruly protesters.

 

Bellingcat identified "at least 50 separate incidents where journalists have been attacked by law enforcement. In these examples journalists have been shot with rubber bullets, targeted with stun grenades, tear gassed, physically attacked, pepper sprayed and arrested."

 

 >> CBS' Michael George tweeted: "I've covered protests for 15 years across the US. This is the first time I’ve ever seen police actively and intentionally target the press with rubber bullets, tear gas, and arrests. Scenes reminiscent of China, Iran. We remain determined to show the country what’s happening here..."

 

 >> On Sunday morning I interviewed LA Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske, who described the moment when Minneapolis police fired rubber bullets Saturday night: "We were shouting 'press' and I was waving my notebook at them. They just kept following us and firing at us..."

 

...

 

As Baltimore Sun media critic David Zurawik wrote in this column, "the question that remains is why we are seeing more physical attacks on the press than we did, say, in 2015 in the uprising in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray." Echoing what he said on CNN, Zurawik wrote, "There are a lot of reasons for the rise, but here's the one I think making the greatest difference: almost four years of the president of the United States demonizing the press, calling reporters 'enemies of the people' and 'scum,' and encouraging rallygoers at his events to intimidate them..."

I am wondering if some police are also blaming the media for what is happening, in a "shoot the messenger" reaction -- maybe they have the idea that they could beat people up any time they wanted, if it weren't for cell phone cameras and reporters publicizing it when they do.

The actual problem, of course, is that police are beating people up. 

And journalists keep on reporting it when it happens.

Take off, eh!

Dear Bob and Doug,

Please take off, eh!

Yours,@CAFinUS pic.twitter.com/gu48YsfBYj

— Canadian Forces in 🇺🇸 (@CAFinUS) May 30, 2020

Not sure if anyone in the States will appreciate this but it’s AWESOME the #LaunchAmerica astronauts are BOB & DOUG 👊🤘#Canada

Icons in Canada from SCTV fame !! 🇨🇦🌏🪐🌙🚀🛰@Astro_Doug #Nasa #SpaceX

Take Off !! Eh. #LiftOff #TakeOff pic.twitter.com/nyZc6i39yi

— Kevin Smith (@Global_Smith) May 28, 2020

Dear SpaceX,

Can you launch Trump into space instead?

Asking for America.

Thanks!#LaunchAmerica #SpaceLaunchLIVE #SpaceX Cape Canaveral International Space Station #LaunchDay #TrumpMeltdown #HadEnough #TwitterFactCheck #spacexlaunch #CarolynGombell Bob & Doug Challenger pic.twitter.com/3aPDEbN0TP

— Steve Rustad (@SteveRustad1) May 27, 2020

Say goodbye to choirs for a while

When I grew up, of course we were all in the Children's Choir at church, and every school grade had its own choir every year to perform at the school Christmas concert. Its how I learned all my carols and Christmas songs
Of course its been years now since I was in a choir, but I do remember once, about 40 years ago, when I participated with hundreds of others in a Sing-Along Messiah at the McPherson Playhouse in Victoria --  what a great experience that was.
Now we are finding out that the recent COVID research says choirs are a prime mode of virus transmission:

It may be the single most famous outbreak in the U.S.: the Skagit County, Wash., choir practice.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled the results of its contact tracing. The choir met every Tuesday evening until March 10. At that last meeting, 61 members were present and chairs were arranged close together in six rows of 20 with many empty chairs. They practiced for 40 minutes together, for 50 minutes separated into two smaller groups, and then for 45 minutes sang together again. There was a 15-minute break between the second and third session for oranges and cookies, but many didn’t eat.  No one reported physical contact between members and most everyone left immediately after practice. Hand sanitizer was distributed. But, in the end, 53 of the 61 contracted the coronavirus. Three were hospitalized, two died.
This seems to happen repeatedly. The Amsterdam Mixed Choir gave a performance March 8; 102 out of 130 singers tested positive. Fifty members of the Berlin Cathedral Choir tested positive as well.

I'll bet it has something to do with the act of singing - maybe the forceful expelling of breath from deep in the lungs spreads the virus droplets further. Who knows? 
Whatever the reason, I think singing together in public is likely not going to be happening anymore, not until a vaccine is available.
So I guess there are going to be no more Choir!Choir!Choir! experiences:


This may be the way choirs will sing together now:

Even the Mormon Tabernacle Choir did an online Sing-Along Messiah this Easter.
But for one last time, here's the real thing:

Thinking about the future of Canadian food

CNN has a big story tonight about the future of the US food supply - with more questions than answers:

“We don’t know what the food-service sector will look like,” said Jaime Chamberlain, a fresh-produce importer based in Nogales, Arizona. When the pandemic largely shut down the US in mid-March, “I lost about 96 percent of my food-service contracts from one day to the next. That is an incredible hit to my business.”
Now, Chamberlain asks, “Are people going to go back to cruise lines? Will they go to a restaurant that seats 100 people? Will that restaurant be able to operate with the same amount of seating? Maybe there’ll be no more conventions for 1,000 people… I think people are going to be very reluctant.”
Burkett, speaking by phone from his Mississippi farm, shares those and other worries, and not just on his own account.“As a farmer, the dilemma I’ve got right now, is we don’t have a market. I’ve got crops going to be there to harvest, and I don’t know if we’ll have someone to sell to or not.” In a few weeks, Burkett said he will have more than 120,000 ears of sweet corn to harvest — all meant to go to restaurants that may or may not need them. “My biggest fear is the fear of how long this is going to last. I have to decide now what I’m going to plant in the fall. I’ve got to order seeds, get the ground ready,” Burkett said. He’s decided, for example, to go ahead and plant seedless watermelons, so they’ll be ready to sell this fall to the New Orleans school system — and he’ll have to hope the schools are open.

Canada is going to be having similar problems, because nobody knows what is going to happen.

COVID19 has upended the world, and given Trump's mismanagement in America, which will bleed over into Canada too, we are going to be on our own for a long time, I think.

For us here in the west, the main issue I think is going to be food -- growing it, and importing it.  The food production and distribution and processing chains are in shambles and its going to get worse.

Yes, we are planting a garden this spring after years of not bothering. And yes, we have arranged for weekly vegetable deliveries from the local market garden. And yes, I am hoarding jars so I can freeze and can vegetables and fruit for the first time in a long time. And yes, we know a guy who knows a guy who can get us a side of beef the next time they are culling their herd.

But its not going to be enough.

Especially if the meat plants keep on having to close down because the virus is running rampant through their facilities.  Wait till it gets into the fish plants, and into the fruit and vegetable processing lines.

Has anybody yet figured out the safest ways to seed, fertilize, harvest, and process our Canadian crops this summer?  Will we also have to figure out how to get our Saskatchewan grain to flour mills in Ontario, and move BC apples to the food processors in Quebec, instead of following the usual north-south shipping lanes, selling our food south while eating food imported from the US? 

And hey, funny thing, hoocouldanoode? - but maybe it would have been a good thing to keep the Canadian Wheat Board around for just such an emergency, because the Canadian government could tell them what to do and they sorta had to do it - unlike the grain companies who will happily make a pile of money shipping all our grain production to China or wherever even if Canadians need the bread.

Our remaining other marketing boards might well turn out to be useful for the next few years, too - we will need the eggs, and the milk.

Basically, in the long term, I think Canada will have to get more self-sufficient, both in terms of what we produce, and how we sell it.  It won't be as "efficient" as the globalized food production and distribution system our food producers have spent the last 50 years developing. But at least in a Canada-focused national system, Canadians would be the first in line.

But its going to be a painful time while we sort it out.

#ObamaGreat

Here are Obama's two addresses tonight to the HBCU and high school 2020 graduating classes. 

#ObamaGreat and #ObamaWasBetterAtEverything are now trending around the world. 

Congratulations to the HBCU Class of 2020! Michelle and I are so proud of you. As you set out to change the world, we’ll be the wind at your back. Can’t wait to see what you achieve. https://t.co/PCsjkJJTXi

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 16, 2020

Congrats to the high school Class of 2020, as well as to the teachers, coaches, and most of all, parents and family who’ve guided you along the way. Thanks for letting me be part of your big day! pic.twitter.com/RjYvHs2BhC

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 17, 2020

And here is what people think about the guy America has got instead:

This is brutal

pic.twitter.com/hlTX9T5ePf

— Eleven Films (@Eleven_Films) May 16, 2020

The contrast is enough to break your heart.

I'm all for a Space Force if we use it to launch every fucking member of this criminal administration straight the fuck into the sun

— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) May 15, 2020

Lost years

Well, I think we have all realized now there is not going to be any "normal" anymore. 

The hysterical "reopen, damn it!" marches across the continent were a cry of despair against the inevitable, but now I think the truth is sinking in.

There is going to be a new Depression across North America. 

Here's a thread about what we are facing:

Because they’re competing with the other shop across the street, they cut prices to keep their share of the market. And they often operate while servicing debt. Most businesses need to keep all of the balls in the air just to survive. That time is over.

— Paul Doroshenko, Q.C. (@PaulDoroshenko) May 11, 2020

The entrepreneurs have no capital. Their capital is gone. They can’t start new businesses. A handful will survive but with drastically reduced ability to invest. They will suffer in survival mode.
So will there be any jobs?

— Paul Doroshenko, Q.C. (@PaulDoroshenko) May 11, 2020

In 25 years the businesses on the street will be completely different. Many of those once apparently solid companies will fail within the next 12 months. Expect nothing but grim news.
If you have a job, cherish it. If you have a secure government job, keep it.

— Paul Doroshenko, Q.C. (@PaulDoroshenko) May 11, 2020

We must (this is an imperative) pick ourselves up and keep going. We owe that to ourselves, our families and our fellow occupant of planet earth.
Hold on. Stay strong. Better days will come and they’re worth living for.

— Paul Doroshenko, Q.C. (@PaulDoroshenko) May 11, 2020

Trump's mismanagement - his ignorance about testing, plus his inept and corrupt support programs --will result in successive waves of Covid outbreaks across the US all summer and fall, each one killing thousands more. Everyone will just try to stay home as much as possible, so the US economy will continue to decline. Meanwhile the US government will bankrupt itself as it fights a losing battle to try to shore up the stock markets, the only economic measure Trump thinks is important.

In nine months, Biden will take over, but by then it will be too late for the thousands of businesses and bars and restaurants that will go bankrupt by next fall, after a few miserable months of trying to reopen. The companies that survive will be the ones that continue to have their employees work from home. So the downtown office towers will be empty and the owners of commercial real estate will be going bankrupt too, not to mention everyone from window washers to the people who water office plants.  Farmers across the US will  be watching their restaurant markets disappear, and they won't be able to find immigrant workers to pick their crops. 

Canada's economy won't crash as badly, I don't think -- our more effective and better run federal support programs will cushion the blow a little better for us - but still, its not going to be pretty. The US border won't be reopening for a long time yet, and our biggest trading partner won't be buying nearly as much as they used to. Tourism will be a disaster, our oil and gas industries are in free fall, and we don't know who will be buying all our agricultural exports anymore either.

If we can avoid another Great Depression, we will be lucky, I think. 

Back in 1973, journalist Barry Broadfood published Ten Lost Years - he interviewed hundreds of people about their experiences during the Great Depression and put it all into a book, and for many Canadians, it was the first time we had ever really heard about what happened to ordinary people in Canada during the 1930s, that awful time.

I have been thinking about that book a lot lately.

Cast your bread upon the waters

Ecclesiastes 11 1
Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.

150 years ago, the Choctaw people collected what was then a grand sum of $170 to send to the people of Ireland, who were starving because of the Potato Famine.  CNN reports that the Choctaw understood starvation because they had experienced it themselves on the Trail of Tears.
Now Irish Times reporter Naomi O'Leary is returning the favour:

Native Americans raised a huge amount in famine relief for Ireland at a time when they had very little. It's time for is to come through for them now. https://t.co/ONl9UXmwdH

— Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) May 2, 2020

Half a million dollars has been raised in Ireland. This isn't the only time that Ireland and the American indigenous people have connected.

The act of kindness was never forgotten, and the solidarity between the Irish and Native Americans has continued over the years.
In 1992, 22 Irish men and women walked the Trail of Tears to raise money for famine relief efforts in Somalia, according to Bunbury. They raised $170,000 -- $1,000 for each dollar the Choctaw gave in 1847. A Choctaw citizen reciprocated by leading a famine walk in Ireland seven years later.
In 2017, the town of Midleton in Ireland unveiled a sculpture commemorating the Choctaw's 1847 gift. In 2018, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced a scholarship program for Choctaw people to study in Ireland while he was visiting the tribal nation in Oklahoma.
The GoFundMe donations are just the latest example of the longstanding relationship. As one Irish donor on the fundraising page wrote:
"You helped us in our darkest hour. Honoured to return the kindness. Ireland remembers, with thanks."

It reminded me of the Nova Scotia Christmas Tree that is send each year to Boston in gratitude for the help that came from Boston after the Halifax explosion:

100 years ago today, the Halifax Explosion occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia killing 1000 people. Boston immediately sent doctors & medical supplies to assist in relief efforts - this is why Nova Scotia sends Boston a Christmas tree every year. https://t.co/HYHi6xbqm3 pic.twitter.com/MdhQa3r4Zg

— BostonTweet (@BostonTweet) December 6, 2017

People will never forget those who helped when they needed it the most.

Fiddling while America burns

People in the United States are realizing that Trump and his administration have spent the last two months tweeting and twiddling their thumbs.

Silly. The plan is to pretend that the problem had been solved (because it's been a while and staying at home is boring) and start opening up the country. What could go wrong?

— Your Friend & Sabre ⚔️ (@xiphodaimon) May 4, 2020

And why did they expect anything different?

Trump is utterly incompetent at everything, and the only people he hires are people who won't show him up. So of course he is clueless now and so is everyone else around him. 

If America survives this, it will be because of its governors, who are rapidly forming their own regional associations. But they don't have the authority to deficit spend so we are going to be stuck for the next 9 months watching the US economy implode, until Biden can take over. It isn't going to be pleasant.

Still, its a tricky go, isn't it?  I'm uncertain about our future is, too, but I do have some confidence that the Trudeau government and most of the provinces are on the same page. Though Saskatchewan is reporting new cases, the Maritimes are doing better.

Vox had a big article today comparing Canada and the US:

The American response has become infected by partisan politics and shot through with federal incompetence. Meanwhile, Canada’s policies have been efficiently implemented with support from leaders across the political spectrum. The comparison is a case study in how a dysfunctional political system can quite literally cost lives.
The Canadian approach has not been perfect. Its death rate is currently much higher than best-in-class performers like Germany and South Korea; Canadian officials have fallen down, in particular, when it comes to long-term senior care and the indigenous population. But given the interdependence between these two large neighboring economies, Canadians are not only vulnerable as a result of their own government’s choices but also because of their southern neighbors’ failures.
“The biggest public health threat to Canada right now is importing cases from the United States,” says Steven Hoffman, a political scientist who studies global health at York University.

Yes, its going to be a long time before that border reopens.
I am beginning to worry seriously about Canadian food supplies -- so much of our food is from vegetable and fruit growers in the US, and further south too, and these all depend on an established and predictable supply chain where crops get planted, harvested, processed and transported in an orderly progression.  Canada can produce its own flour and beef and apples, but not oranges. Or bananas.

"Let me tell you about the olden days, children.  Why, there used to be a time when we could get bananas any time we went to the store.  Any time at all!"

Yes, its about time

I was computerless for the last week+ so I didn't post, but here I am again.

And I am so glad that Trudeau is banning assault rifles in Canada. I agree with @Dred_Tory:

Dear people who are pissed that AR-15s are set to be banned:

No one gives a shit.#ar15

— Sir Francis (@Dred_Tory) April 30, 2020

Here's some funny stuff to end the week:

I must’ve watched this 50 times and I’ll probably watch it 50 more. pic.twitter.com/S7GjgMlH7j

— ѕυzу (@suzy_swears) April 28, 2020

Seals are just dogs of the sea pic.twitter.com/PcSz3mJQKe

— What's Underwater (@UnderwaterVids) April 26, 2020

This is the best weather forecast in the history of television news pic.twitter.com/LhmoJDCkbZ

— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) April 30, 2020

Canine Cruiserweight#LifeCommentary #LiveCommentary pic.twitter.com/9tiOfLAJNp

— Nick Heath (@nickheathsport) May 1, 2020

And a little Jann Arden to finish things off:

This could be the most Canadian-COVID19 tweet ever. 🇨🇦 https://t.co/t64WghKHCi

— Jeffrey Luscombe (@JeffreyLuscombe) April 27, 2020

Saving lives

Once we recognise that this is a major event in human history, it can actually help gain some perspective. And as Cuomo said “What we have done has saved lives” pic.twitter.com/cZFbE9HTlX

— Helen Jenkins (@jenkinshelen) April 25, 2020

Laugh and the world laughs with you

Joe Biden could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot Donald Trump and I would still vote for him

— doug wiser (@MyBigRedTruck) April 18, 2020

If you could pick one person to curse Donald Trump out on live television in that press room for one minute straight, right to his face, who would it be? I think I would go with Samuel L. Jackson.

— Jason Overstreet (@JasonOverstreet) April 8, 2020

What do ya bet if trump ever used an interpreter for the deaf they'd fuck up and get him a mime?

— George Carlin's Ghost (@OldFuckGCG) April 16, 2020

My best friend sent me this. I can’t stop laughing. It’s spot on 😂 pic.twitter.com/ecTo5MtcaV

— Emmet Kelly (@EmmetSeanKelly) April 11, 2020

Americans dumbest criminal. pic.twitter.com/T39kWEomxw

— Only in America (@Crazzyintheusa) April 15, 2020

Most pointless colouring picture ever. pic.twitter.com/OFcQzoVUab

— You Have One Job, Stay Indoors (@_youhadonejob1) April 15, 2020

Stages of Grief

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.
These are the stages of grief and I've been through them all since the COVID19 lockdown began. I think everyone else has going through them too.

Denial - how can this be happening? WTF is this? Isn't there some easier way?
Anger - don't they realize what they are doing to us and to the economy? Its so terrible for so many people.
Bargaining - well, maybe it won't last too long if everybody acts the right way.
Depression - how awful this is, and its going on FOREVER!!!
Acceptance - it is what it is. Nothing we can do except to get through it.

Though I must admit, I still feel anger:

What shocks me about #COVID19 is the economic disaster. I never realized we might have no way to control a disease except to close everything down, worldwide, and keep it closed for weeks or months. People starving, businesses bankrupt, economies ruined, lives devastated.

— Cathie from Canada 🇨🇦 (@CathieCanada) April 14, 2020

The economic hit from this is going to be so hard, and last so long, and hurt so many innocent blameless people.
But every time I start to feel sorry for myself and for all of us, I remember that whatever I am going through, it is nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to what others are dealing with.
I don't think our society will ever be able to repay doctors and nurses for what they are doing for all of us, risking death every day to save as many as they can.
There was one tweet in particular, from a pediatric surgical fellow and single mother in New York, that made me just cry.

My babies are too young to read this now. And they’d barely recognize me in my gear. But if they lose me to COVID I want them to know Mommy tried really hard to do her job. #GetMePPE #NYC pic.twitter.com/OMew5G7mjK

— Cornelia Griggs (@CorneliaLG) March 29, 2020

I hope she will be OK.
I hope someday her children will be able to honour her for what she is doing.

How I spent my summer vacation

Here's the tweet of the week month:

Today is 3 wks in quarantine w/o sugar. Walking 3 miles a day, no meat, dairy or flour! I feel great! No alcohol & vegan diet! A 2 hr home workout everyday. Lost 14 lbs & gained muscle mass! I have no idea whose tweet this is but I’m proud of them so I decided to copy & paste it!

— Alison 🇨🇦🇿🇦 (@AckAlison) April 10, 2020

Strange Days Indeed

I wonder if John Lennon ever realized how prophetic his words would be:

Nobody told me there'd be days like these
Strange days indeed.

I never understood how a pandemic would destroy the world economy.  

Millions of people out of work. Millions with no paycheques, no income, and no prospect of getting any except for a few hundred dollars from the government. Millions who have no money, who cannot buy food, or medicines, or clothes, or pay their utilities bills or their rent. It is an economic disaster of a scale which the world has never seen before.

I used to live in a modern society. And I never wanted to live anywhere else.  But I just didn't understand how fragile that society really was.  

Now I find myself suddenly living in some kind of an alternate universe, one with no schools, no clothing stores, no book stores, no coffee shops. No health care, no dental care, no physiotherapy, no surgeries. No weddings, no funerals, no parties, no graduations, no concerts, no events. No bars, no restaurants. No sports. 

The idea I am seeing floating around now -- that this worldwide economic shutdown will just have to last for years, until we get a vaccine or a cure -- well, sorry, but that just ain't gonna happen. 

Not if all this pain is just for the sake of avoiding a virus which is, for most people, most of the time, a mild illness. 

And yes, of course I understand that our heedless and careless way of living wasn't sustainable because we don't know who will get COVID-19 next, and we don't know who will die, and if we are dying, its an awful death, and the problem is that caring for the people who are really sick is going to destroy our health care system unless some of us can postpone getting really sick until later.

But our situation right now isn't sustainable either. 

We need to figure out how we are going to get out of this.

I wrote a comment recently on Montreal Simon's excellent blog, to the effect that I am proud to be a Canadian during this crisis, because our leaders stepped up to the plate.  Someday I hope to understand better how Trudeau did it, how he put the right people into the right place to get us through this.

And now, they have to step up again, to lay out a plan of how we are going to get out of this.

And I think maybe it will start with a national testing program -- we have to know who has already had COVID-19 and who has not, so we can figure out who needs to continue to to isolate.

And then, gradually, our strange days might end.
UPDATE:  I'm starting to see stuff along the lines of: Social Distancing cannot fail, it can only BE failed!  In other words, we just have to keep doing it more and more and more, and Trudeau has to make it illegal for anybody to ever leave their house ever, and then, easy peasy, THEN it will TOTALLY WORK!
Hmmm.....