Category: Politics
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23. A Closer Look at MAiD
A few months ago, I was reprimanded by an old friend for an offhand comment about medical assistance in dying. In our chat at a Vancouver café, he had mentioned he was helping another friend with an application for that legal process known in Canada by its acronym–– MAiD. His friend was slipping into dementia.…
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22. Lamenting a Battered Defiance
1 It can be revealing to recall the evolution of one’s political persuasions. For example, my early notions about Cuba were formed in utter ignorance of facts: The country came first to attention through the historic address of President JFK watched live on TV in October 1962. Kennedy announced that the Russians had sneaked nuclear…
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17. Away from the Screens and into the Street?
I have always believed that hardening of arteries is far less dreadful than the narrowing of the mind. As a septuagenarian, I’ve tried to resist the creeping conservativism too often typical of advancing years. While no raging grandpa, I like to think that through the decades, my politics have tilted evermore leftward. Still, I increasingly…
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16. A Grave Matter of Conscience
I had hoped that ‘Notes on Exodus and Exile’ (April 2024), would be the last reflections on the Israel/Palestine conflict I would post on this site. I had thought there was nothing to add. But in the deepening horrors of the last few months, no other global issue has more heavily weighed on my mind……
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15. Apollo 11: Flashbacks and Jump-cuts
In the visually stunning non-narrative documentary, ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ (1982), a Saturn 5 rocket is shown blasting off in slow motion. Against doom-like organ chords of the Philip Glass score, white flakes of insulation are shown drifting down through swirling fire. The title of the film translates as ‘world out of balance’ from the language of the…
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13. A Spotty Maple Leaf
1 February 15th 2025 marked sixty years since the first raising of the red and white maple leaf as Canada’s official flag. Of the 24% of Canadians who are old enough to remember that day–– probably very few do. Those whose memories stretch back sixty years or earlier are more likely to recall the controversy…
Coprolites in Amber (etc.) 