Reflections of an Old Man

Op Ed by Helge Nome This reminds me of the early days of the Yellow Vest movement that played out before the pandemic. During that time, small extreme groups saw the opportunity to infiltrate the Yellow Vests and give the mainstream media an excuse to paint everybody with the same brush. This could easily happen again in Ottawa tomorrow as folks from all over North America congregate in Canada's capital to confront politicians with their grievances. Meanwhile, the pandemic is playing itself out and most restrictions will likely be lifted in the next few weeks anyway, convoy or no convoy. The economy is already beginning to boom and inflation is likely the next problem ahead for us all.

I was involved with the Yellow Vest movement before the pandemic and a convoy to Ottawa was organized where a number of people with "yellow vest" sentiments were engaged. The general thrust of that convoy was against perceived federal government overreach into provincial matters and the stifling of our energy industry based on political ideology from Ottawa. I believe this new convoy is based on similar sentiments with anti-compulsory-vaxxing sitting in the front seat, as the energy sector is rebounding at present. This time a lot of anti government sentiments have been stirred up by the pandemic which is now in its end stages. So, I am expecting a lot of public support to be expressed for the convoy providing extreme elements are prevented from taking over the show.

Op Ed by Helge Nome It is not a good idea to bulldoze in on your host, with no regard for his health and the consequences for yourself in the process, as you accompany him to his, and your funeral. If you want to thrive and multiply, your host needs to be treated with respect and not be unduly troubled by your presence. COVID has now learned that lesson and is very successfully claiming territory in the form of the Omicron variant. The question arises; have we, humans, learned that lesson yet, in relation to how we treat Mother Earth? I don't think so, and we are about to learn the hard way, whether we like it or not, and those that show our mother some respect will ultimately be those that survive.

Op Ed by Helge Nome The Covid pandemic is all but over, thanks to the virulent Omicron variant that has now all but displaced the Delta variant as the main infective agent. The result is far less severe disease and more rapid recovery from infection. Nature has done its thing. What's the point in killing your host or severely demobilizing him anyway? If the object is rapid and sustained spread to a maximum number of hosts? So, like in 1920, it is time to move on to the good times, maybe? Like the "roaring twenties"? History has a tendency to repeat itself, so I expect something like that will happen because of post pandemic pent up energy being released. Just as well, because we are going to be heading into severe weather challenges as atmospheric gases move in unpredictable ways above our heads, driven by changes in ocean currents and absorbed energy from Sol.