Category Politics
The Slippery Slope
Those opposing the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that has opened the door to assisted suicide in Canada are frequently branded as alarmists by proponents of euthanasia. Supposedly there will be controls to ensure that only those who wish to die are allowed to kill themselves. A new study done in the Province of […]
Cash Cow or Cash Cat?
My wife tore up the letter from the City of Ottawa, or I would have posted it here. It seems Marshall’s license is due for renewal. If you read this blog regularly you know that Marshall was our cat, who died last month. The city knows we have a cat because the Ottawa Humane Society […]
Euthanasia II – The Price of Death
In the not too distant future, it seems, Ontario’s health care system will have to confront the issue of assisted suicide. The question won’t be whether to allow it or not. The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered Parliament to make it happen, and my guess is Parliament is too spineless to tell the Court […]
Euthanasia I – A Not So Modest Proposal
In anticipation of euthanasia being legalized in Canada, medical schools are scrambling to update their curriculum. Thanks to the Supreme Court they now have to teach physician assisted suicide. Or think they may have to – at this point there is no death curriculum. The whole issue is in legal limbo right now and won’t […]
A Principled Man
Canadian politician James Lunney made the news last week as he resigned from the governing Conservatives in order to speak freely. Normally when a politician says he wants to speak freely you can expect him to criticize his former party, suggesting that he was muzzled, but that is not the case here. Lunney, who announced […]
Ending with a Bang (or a Whimper)?
As a journalist (though not practising these days) I know how obnoxious we can be as a profession. They teach it in journalism school. I’m only half joking about that. Young journalists in training have it drummed into their heads that the story is all-important. Sometimes, they are told, that means you have to do […]
The Un-Canadian
Ted Cruz has declared his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for the 2016 American presidential election. He is unlikely to win. He is the first to declare his candidacy. Voting day is still 20 months away. Historically those who declare first don’t capture the prize. I suspect party members become tired of them over […]
Buyukada Orphanage
I wrote about visiting one of the Princes Islands in Istanbul, and my interest in the abandoned building at the top of the hill. I recently discovered there is more to the story of that abandoned orphanage than what I learned on the trip. It has fairly recently been part of an important court case. […]
Assisting Death
Sitting waiting for the vet to look at a sick cat at one o’clock in the morning gave me plenty of time to think. Expecting bad news, my mind turned to some other bad news that has hit Canada recently, something more serious than our seemingly unending winter. Canada is about to have a national […]
Stuff Happens
Went to Canada’s National Arts Centre on Saturday night to take in the play Stuff Happens, which is a look at the players and their actions surrounding the 2003 invasion of Iraq. You know the war – the United Nations decided Saddam Hussein could be given more time, so George W. Bush put together his […]
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