Monthly Archives: November 2015
Unreal
In North America the ongoing struggle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria is something for the nightly news. It is far away and doesn’t impact us personally. Unless you travel there, in which case it becomes very real. I was given the opportunity to visit a refugee camp in northern Iraq, Yazidi people pushed out […]
Design Flaw
I am the first to admit I am lazy, though I would prefer to describe myself as an efficient or creative worker. It is not that I don’t like hard work (well, I don’t really); it is more that I believe we are all better served by the conservation of energy. Which means I hated […]
Refugees – Cold Hard Facts
He speaks with the authority of someone who has been there. I didn’t think to ask if I could quote him, so I won’t give his name. He’s a relief worker in the middle east. We were having dinner, and the discussion turned to the refugee crisis in Iraq and Syria, not a […]
The Slippery Slope
Canada’s Parliament will be returning Dec, 3 and one of the first things on the agenda will be the issue of assisted suicide, something that the Supreme Court has said must be addressed soon. Given that, I thought might be appropriate to re-post some of my thoughts on the subject from earlier this year. Who […]
Euthanasia II – The Price of Death
Canada’s Parliament will be returning Dec, 3 and one of the first things on the agenda will be the issue of assisted suicide, something that the Supreme Court has said must be addressed soon. Given that, I thought might be appropriate to re-post some of my thoughts on the subject from earlier this year. Who […]
Euthanasia I – A Not So Modest Proposal
Canada’s Parliament will be returning Dec. 3 and one of the first things on the agenda will be the issue of assisted suicide, something that the Supreme Court has said must be addressed soon. Given that, I thought might be appropriate to re-post some of my thoughts on the subject from earlier this year. Who […]
Waiting For A Plane XII – What Time Is It?
I have rarely been more confused. I spent almost half a day uncertain what time it was. The Internet let me down, which just goes to show you can’t always trust what you see online. As the plane taxied to the gate upon our arrival at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport the pilot made the routine […]
They Ate Their Horses
I published this post on Remembrance Day last year, but wanted to publish it again because for me it brings the First World War home personally. Today we remember. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the guns fell silent. The bloodiest war in human history to […]
Remembrance Day
Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, the anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First Word War. It is a time for reflection on the nature of war and peace. I mentioned last year that I would be thinking today about my grandfather, who was a First World War veteran. There are ceremonies across Canada […]
Random Thoughts For A Tuesday
Today is a day for ramblings, some short paragraphs that perhaps tie up some loose ends. Writing about current events in advance is dicey. I wrote that Justin Trudeau’s challenges in constructing his new Cabinet and painted a picture of politicians arriving at Rideau Hall by limousine. That’s the way it has been done before, […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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