Linda and I spent the last week in an all-inclusive resort in Yucatan. We were with a group of very good friends, tagging along with a larger high school reunion group. It was a first for us, and we were interested to see if we’d like it. Putting aside the fact that sometimes it seemed…
Politics, Social Commentary
THEY Are Not Taking Over…Yet
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
A brief commercial moment; my latest novel, “Too Clever by a Zettabyte” (just published on Amazon) is subtitled “Can THEY really take over?” And the answer in the book is, “Not if we don’t let them.” I once heard a wise person tell an artist, “Your job will not be taken by an artificial intelligence.…
Social Commentary
Critical Thinking and White Ford Pickups
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
One of the techniques of critical thinking is to recognize the dangers of subjective data collection. This is prevalent in all of us, because collecting data is skewed by the other natural functions of the human brain. In other words, if you aren’t aware of your own biases, you won’t collect data evenly. A Survival…
Politics, Social Commentary
Arab-Israeli War Spills into Canada
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
A war is a difficult time to live through. Goes without question. But when there are so many “small” wars going on around the globe, it’s tempting for those of us whose experience of conflict is restricted to our media to follow the latest news flash and ignore the rest. But due to the spread…
Politics
Justin Trudeau: Never Quite Good Enough
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
We see it happen over and over in community organizations, especially performance groups. A charismatic personality achieves prominence, eventually rising to leadership. If he (it’s usually a male) is good at his job, (a choir director, star performer or publicity expert) this can be good for the group. In the short term. Unfortunately, people don’t…
Social Commentary
We Can’t Afford Your Lifestyle
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
Despite the fact that the Middle East is blowing up, Canada maintains its own picayune share of international conflagrations. Asian power operating on Canadian soil seems to be the flavour of the week. The teacup tussle with India has been pretty well wiped out of the news for the moment, but the more serious problem…
Social Commentary
Democracy Under Siege
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
Human society is not naturally democratic, and when any political system is placed under stress, it tends to revert to a previous, more autocratic form. For example, real communism never had a chance in Russia, which went straight from the feudal system of the tsars to the autocracy of the Communist Party. What we see…
Social Commentary
What Are the Odds on COVID Prevention
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
Okay, COVID is picking up for the great Fall Plunge into the Winter Miasma of Disease, and health officials are talking about taking precautions again. To which many people are responding, “Oh, No! I’m so tired of all that!” COVID Doesn’t Care Right. You’re tired of all this. You’ve got COVID Fatigue. Everybody’s got COVID…
Politics
Ukrainian Nazis and Other Gifts
by renaissanceadmin • • 1 Comment
There is a time when the nation’s reputation is at stake, when Canada’s vaunted ability to punch above her weight on the international scene is at risk. At that time, no matter what the cause, if all Canadians put aside their petty differences we can present a confident front to the world, with the motivation…
Politics, Social Commentary
The Problem with Punjab
by renaissanceadmin • • 0 Comments
An interesting conjunction of news items this week. Several Russian dissident journalists in Europe seem to have been poisoned by Russian agents. At the same time, Prime Minister Trudeau is accusing the Indian government of assassinating Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh dissident in Canada. On the surface, these seem to be similar events. An expatriate or…