Reflections of an Old Man

I This pandemic puts trains of thought into motion that may not have come about otherwise. We know that across the globe there are groups of people that have traits that are similar, and traits that are different, both in a physical and mental sense. We also know that people are amazingly similar, at a deeper level, both physically and mentally. The same goes for animals, insects. bacteria, viruses, etc. A theory as to how this has come about is as follows: Life develops under an umbrella of natural conditions that are forever changing and also modified by lifeforms as they emerge and multiply: The North American prairies being shaped by millions of bison over thousands of years, being an example. From time to time, there are major upheavals that can radically change a relatively steady state process in a very short time, like the arrival in the Americas of Europeans, as a case in point, almost wiping out countless millions of bison, and countless millions of native people as well, by ...

I don't think so. More like spoilt Alberta. Albertans with a sense of entitlement to the wealth they have become accustomed to over the last 70 odd years. On top of that, add an unwillingness to change and you have a province stuck in the rut with a bunch of recently elected rookie politicians with an attitude that they know it all. As the world moves on it looks like we are going to be left way behind in the dust, complaining about our lot and laughed at by the rest humanity. The "Hurtin' Albertan" ? I guess so.

How can rational people, observing a phenomenon, 'see' something very different from each other? Simply because what you see depends on your viewpoint, physically, and your point of view, or mindset. This explains the emergence of radically different opinions on the nature of what we have labelled Covid 19. On one side are those that see this virus as being similar to the one that created the 1918 flu pandemic, and should be dealt with as such. On the other side are those that see it as a weapon of fear without serious physical consequences and which should be ignored in order to preserve society as we know it. The people that are in direct contact with the virus daily and see it killing vulnerable individuals on a routine basis are generally in the first group. A good number of those that are not in direct contact, fall into the second category, as they observe empty parking lots and little obvious activity outside community hospitals (in contrast to those that work inside th...

The conflict is now over after some 11 days of death and destruction and a 20:1 kill ratio in favor of Israel - as usual. What's new? Nothing. This process has been repeated many times over the years, with no change in sight. Why does it happen? Because it serves the interest of politicians and power groups on both sides of the fence. It entrenches them in power and ensures that money and materials will continue to flow into their respective coffers to keep the wheel turning for their own benefit. Dead and maimed children and adults? Too bad. So sad... Amen.

I now have the dubious distinction of having been directly exposed to teenagers, a middle aged person and an old person that were infected by COVID. The outcomes were as follows for the infected people: For the teenagers, a sniffle, for the middle aged person, a seriously debilitating period with no energy. For the old person, death in five days following infection from lungs plugged up with sticky mucus. For me, no problem, I have both my Pfizer shots and am currently in isolation. Transmission occurred because vector person(s) wrote off their own symptoms as a mild cold, nothing to worry about. That's the strategy of this virus in a nutshell. And it works, only too well. So, are we dealing with a freakish accident of Nature, or something far more sinister? You be the judge.

Things are likely coming to a head this morning in the UCP in the weekly UCP Caucus meeting happening at this time. This in light of an open letter from Caucus Chair Todd Loewen directing scathing criticism at Premier Kenney and his cabinet team and resigning as caucus chair. Depending on the reaction of the rest of the caucus membership, Kenney's only real choice is to expel Loewen from caucus. Furthermore, Loewen stated that he would continue to serve as a UCP MLA in the legislature. I can't see that happening unless Kenney chooses to step down from the premiership, which is highly unlikely unless forced to do so based on a popular revolt within the party. Rumors have been circulating before about the Premier threatening to call an early election if his leadership is seriously challenged. Jason Kenney was part of cobbling together the UCP from the remnants of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Wildrose Party following the 2016 election, and likely sees it as 'his...

Ongoing extension of our reach into the micro and macro world around us brings home the point that what we can directly see, hear and feel is but a minute fraction of what is out there, and inside us. Working in the pig industry as a technician, I used to run an artificial insemination program and observed collected sperm under the microscope for viability, before extending doses to be distributed to company pig barns. Millions of little tadpoles swam around their own little universe, unknowingly waiting to become the instruments for creating new universes in the grander scheme of things. Our instruments are now giving us a peek outside of our own little 'pond of perception' and giving pause for reflection.