Stuff the News

Image: Green Monster


Stuff the News

Oh, sorry: Stuff IN the News ...


FinPost: Canadians voted for a bunch of hypocritical greenies and their naive, suicidal platforms

• Voters who want to make a real impact should turn off all air conditioning, stop having children, downsize, sell their vehicles and lower their thermostats

Huh? Call me stupid, but If everybody sold their vehicles, who would buy them?  The government, maybe, but that wouldn't exactly "grow" the economy, would it.

• Canadians vote for leaders who promise to save the planet, but allow them to continue to commute long distances along asphalt highways, drive SUVs, fly south, drink water out of plastic bottles, are addicted to electronic devices that consume huge amounts of electricity, live and work in oversized and air conditioned premises, eat packaged foods, use paper cups and towels, and pack landfill sites with manufactured goods shipped halfway around the world only to be prematurely discarded.

There's only one word in that whole paragraph that truly bothers me.  It's "allow". Sounds a bit authoritarian to me, and we can't very well criticize China and Russia while holding that kind of attitude, and you know how we love the whole sneer thing. Still, it would be "green" of people (and healthier too) if they walked whenever possible and used public transit instead of one-occupant gas guzzlers.

[They should also:]

• ... turn off all air conditioning, plug their leaky houses, stop having children, downsize ... and lower their thermostats and wear sweaters.

Hmmmm ... My whole life I never used an air conditioner until this past summer, central air being available in my new apartment in a rent-controlled seniors' building. One thing that happens when you get old is that the summer heat can be dangerously debilitating, so I set the air to turn on when the temp rises above 25C (77 F) and turn off when it lowers to 25C.

The generally recommended room temperature is 78F, and I do often wear woolly sox and a cozy fleecy manshirt.

Mind you, I did survive okay when, on the hottest day of last July while I was still living in my previous apartment, the hydro company chose the hottest, most humid day to cut off the power in order to trim the tree branches. That was the longest seven hours I ever spent, not moving off the couch, fanning myself with a notebook; but I survived okay, and realized that summer heat may not be quite as dangerous for us raisins as we're led to fear.  It's just bloody uncomfortable.

I walk wherever possible and use public transport the rest of the time, so there's another contribution to the environment and to my own health.

I do buy packaged frozen fruit and vegetables because, when you're cooking for one, produce goes bad too quickly, and often is already wearing out by the time it reaches the supermarket.

So I also recycle religiously (saying a prayer, of course, that the stuff will not end up on some small country's doorstep).  Good recycling shouldn't demand strict prohibition of food packaging, if we can believe what some sources say, that certain incineration methods can reduce them to energy sources.

And don't forget the carbon suckers.

Here's another big complaint in the news:

NatNewswatch: Seniors say ‘doing just alright’ isn’t good enough in cancer care

• The combination of the ageing of the population and rising rates of cancer means our health system must expect, and be ready for, a greatly increased load of cancer cases – an increase of 80% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

The highest incidence of cancer is reportedly lung cancer:

CanCancerSoc: Lung cancer statistics

• Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). It is the leading cause of death from cancer for both men and women in Canada.

Lung.org: What Causes Lung Cancer

• Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer.

If I were a smoker and developed lung cancer, I don't think I'd expect any sympathy,  certainly not from the Tax Payer.

For my purposes, our health care system is okay, considering that I use it only once in a blue moon to get my eyes checked. I quit smoking (and the medical profession) in the 90's, and do not expect to develop lung cancer, but even if I did, I sure as heck wouldn't let them "treat" me for it.

But it's not my business what other people do, and if it costs us all money, sobeit. Just because some people are foolish doesn't mean they should be left to die because of it.

Maybe we should worry more about this:

GlobalNews: Is Canada’s tap water safe? Thousands of test results show high lead levels across the country

Now I know why I began to distil my drinking water a few months ago. Maybe I have a guardian angel after all. It certainly warned me about 5G long before Susan Rice got worried about it, albeit for a completely different reason:

CBC: Susan Rice's warning to Canada: Don't let Huawei work on your 5G networks

• "That will throw the Five Eyes collaboration, which serves the security interests of every Canadian and every American, into jeopardy. It just can't be done," Rice said. "I don't see how we can share in the way we have.
• "It's not a joke. It's truly serious."

Oh, c'mon. No matter who installs 5G or where, losses of privacy are hardly the main issue at this late date; personal physical health is the biggest concern.

If Canada allows Huawei to install its 5G and loses the confidence of some of the "Eyes", which are far more than just 5, will Canada then be spied on any more than it already is?  Probably not.  Nor will China; nor will Russia, nor will any of the long list of countries with whom the US already shares info:

USGovt: Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) allow generally for the exchange of evidence and information in criminal and related matters.

Why does Rice feel called upon to say, "It's not a joke"?  Is she known for jokes?  Nope, she's known for lies:

WashTimes: Susan Rice Lies Will Haunt Liberals

To say "it's not a joke" might well be her way of saying, "this time I'm not lying". Which might be her way of saying, "I'm just prevaricating".