Archives 2020

For International Women’s Day (just past), here are a few links that I have been collecting over the last little while. Despite progress, women are still under-represented and under-valued in countless ways. Happy Reading! 🙂

‘We still have a problem with female authority’: how politics sets a trap for American women (The Guardian)

After My Abusive Relationship, I Couldn’t Leave The House. Travel Opened My World Up Again. HuffPost

My life got easier after top surgery. Is this what male privilege looks like? (Guardian)

A new poll shows what really interests ‘pro-lifers’: Controlling Women (Guardian). Far from truly caring about protecting women and children, denying access to full reproductive health services, along with other rights that men have, is ultimately about men (primarily) attempting to control women.

Warren jokes men who think marriage is between one man and one woman should ‘just marry one woman’. CNN – Let’s put our own action and integrity first, before we engage in discussion with others about their actions. Another one I have seen recently (I think on Facebook)… Any men who genuinely care about limiting the number of abortions in the world should get a vasectomy first. 🙂

These people have a country to run. (Macleans) – A look at an amazing and progressive government, and what leadership looks like, when barriers are removed. 🙂

Fighting the tyranny of ‘niceness’: why we need difficult women.
(Guardian) – To be clear, being nice and being strong are not at all mutually exclusive. However, sometimes, difficult decisions need to be made, or conversations need to be had, and women do not deserve to be limited only to roles where they are only passive and “not difficult” for others.

The queue for women’s toilets is a feminist issue. (Guardian) – Anybody else tired of long lines that men never have to deal with? 🙂

Running Out of Children, a South Korea School Enrolls Illiterate Grandmothers (New York Times)

And, on a lighter note, here is a great article about Robert Munch and The Bag Bag Princess (CBC). A perfect book to go back to for International Women’s Day… 🙂

CBC

True – with one clarification. The time to end fossil fuel subsidies is not just now. The time was decades ago, and somehow it still hasn’t been done. We absolutely can not transition to a clean energy economy as long as we are spending money supporting fossil fuels.

The amounts at stake here are staggering:

A post-tax estimate includes direct subsidies, along with what fossil fuels cost in terms of their negative social impact, such as pollution and global warming. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report places Canada’s post-tax subsidy to the fossil fuel industry at an astounding $43 billion US in 2015-16, which amounts to nearly one-fifth of the current federal budget. (On a global scale the IMF post-tax estimate is astronomical: $5.2 trillion US in 2016, or 6.5 per cent of global GDP.) (Bold mine).

CBC

If we want to invest that money in clean energy, I am completely supportive. If anybody who works in the fossil fuel industry wants to retain, I completely support paying for some retraining to learn how to install solar panels, or some other clean energy project. Likewise, if somebody is on a farm that grows animals for meat or dairy consumption and is losing business as trends change, I want them to be able to support their families, and would happily support redirecting some of that fossil fuel subsidy money to helping them change their farm over to something more sustainable.

I do not believe the critics, who say that others are going to continue burning fossil fuels, so we can continue, with a clear conscience, until the worst offenders stop, and then we’ll stop after that. We don’t use that logic in anything else. Imagine what it would sound like if we did… “There’s somebody in my class who isn’t studying or doing their homework. So, until they get straight A’s, I’m not doing any homework…” or “Once everybody else in the world stops smoking, then I will too, but I’m not going to be the first. If I stop, somebody else will buy that pack of cigarettes, so I might as well buy it for myself…”

We rise or fall together, as a planet, and we are each responsible for doing our best – to bring the global average up, together. Supporting the fossil fuel industry brings the average down for all of us, and change is past due. There is lots that we can do: pressure our local MP to support an end to these subsidies, sell our gas vehicles and buy electric and/or use public transit as much as possible, live in a smaller house (or apartment) that needs less energy to heat, install rooftop solar panels, reduce or eliminate animal products in our diet, Lots has already been done, and we still have a long ways to go. We’re in this together – let’s make it happen. 🙂

Forks Over Knives

More reasons to leave cow milk consumption in the past – for health and environmental reasons, with meat in the same category. 🙂

The review summarized here looks at the relationship between dairy and both weight loss and bone strength, as well as the environmental impacts of the dairy industry. This is further evidence that the past claimed health impacts of dairy are not accurate. It should be noted that the Canadian food guide has now (finally) removed dairy as a category – although the messaging from earlier versions seems to still be very much a part of how most of the country views dairy consumption. There has been a definite shift in the last number of years, but dairy milk/cheese/yogurt is still dominant in grocery stores etc.

In addition to health concerns, the review examines the environmental costs of meeting the USDA’s dairy-intake recommendations. The authors note that the impact of industrial dairy production on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, water use and pollution, and antibiotic resistance is 5 to 10 times greater per unit of protein than the production of soy and other legumes as well as most grains. The authors suggest that limiting dairy production could benefit us globally, making it easier to reach international greenhouse-gas targets. (Bold mine).

The report concludes that milk is not an essential part of the diet, and calcium can be obtained elsewhere—and not just from obvious dairy alternatives: “Some people want to consume a white liquid, and there are now many options, such as nut milk, oat milk, and soy milk,” says Willett. “It is important to use one without added sugar. However, white liquid consumption is not nutritionally necessary, and adequate calcium can be obtained from many other foods, especially greens such as kale and also broccoli.”

Link

“The program uses state-of-the-art AI techniques, but simple tests show that it’s a long way from real understanding.” The Atlantic

A long read, and a bit heavy on grammar – for those who are not as interested in grammar as others 🙂 – this is well worth the time to read. Among other things, it is a good reminder that Google translate my help with very simple tasks, such as explaining a word or short, basic phrase to help with communication. However, even in relatively basic sentences, Google may miss key grammatical cues, thus fundamentally changing the meaning of the sentence from Language A to Language B.

To me, the word translation exudes a mysterious and evocative aura. It denotes a profoundly human art form that graciously carries clear ideas in Language A into clear ideas in Language B, and the bridging act should not only maintain clarity but also give a sense for the flavor, quirks, and idiosyncrasies of the writing style of the original author. Whenever I translate, I first read the original text carefully and internalize the ideas as clearly as I can, letting them slosh back and forth in my mind. It’s not that the words of the original are sloshing back and forth; it’s the ideas that are triggering all sorts of related ideas, creating a rich halo of related scenarios in my mind. Needless to say, most of this halo is unconscious. Only when the halo has been evoked sufficiently in my mind do I start to try to express it—to “press it out”—in the second language. I try to say in Language B what strikes me as a natural B-ish way to talk about the kinds of situations that constitute the halo of meaning in question.

The Atlantic

Ultimately, Google is attempting a direct, word for word translation, with no sense of context, or other pieces that humans take for granted in communication. I think the author makes a great point when questioning whether what Google translate does is actual translation in the full sense of the word. If the Language B text is largely made up of Language B words, but is not grammatically accurate, and does not have clear meaning, has the text genuinely been translated?

Is this actually in English? Of course we all agree that it’s made of English words (for the most part, anyway), but does that imply that it’s a passage in English? To my mind, because the above paragraph contains no meaning, it’s not in English; it’s just a jumble made of English ingredients—a random-word salad, an incoherent hodgepodge. (Bold mine).

The Atlantic

Language, relationships, communication and translation are highly complex. Google may be able to help with some of the basics of translation, but it is a long ways from what a real person can do. 🙂

CBC.ca: GO ridership from Kitchener jumps 40 per cent, Metrolinx report says.

Numbers show ‘if you build it, they will come,’ Waterloo mayor says

CBC

More incentive to continue to work at leaving the car at home and taking the GoTrain/bus for these kinds of trips. Let’s continue to add incentives to the system to put resources towards greater public transit, in all forms, instead of more highways and parking lots. 🙂

Here is what I am listening to today – Here and here . (Just finished part 1) Well worth listening to. There are, unfortunately, still strong currents, in some development circles, that promote dynamics that are misguided, and really harmful. To set the record straight, Africa is not a country, it is a continent. Unless you are going on a trip to the whole continent, you are not “going on a trip to Africa”. You are going to (or were in) a specific country or countries. Listen to the podcasts for further discussion of this and other dynamics. 🙂

Coming up next: “Called, Not Qualified” (here). One of my biggest, most long-standing issue with how some projects are still run. Wanting to do a job, and being qualified to do it, are two very different things. Hopping on a plane (or driving somewhere else), doesn’t change that. If you are not trained or qualified to teach in a school or as a social worker or to run a poverty reduction program or something else, you are not doing any favours by “volunteering” to teach in someone’s school or work in an orphanage or distribute goods and services in a community – especially if you live somewhere else and simply drop in for a short time before leaving again.

Making yourself the star of someone else’s life (or using their kids in your pictures, without a long-standing relationship, especially if you are using those pictures for fundraising) takes agency away from others, which is the opposite of what true development projects aim to do. We can, and must, do better. 🙂

Greta Thunberg Shares Op-Ed Calling Out Trudeau’s Climate Hypocrisy – HP

Liberal MPs Urge Trudeau To Reject Massive Alberta Oilsands Mine – HP

Trudeau’s continued failure to act substantively on climate change has to end. While pretending to care about climate action, Trudeau and the Liberals continue to act in ways that can not be justified – and they are rightly being called out, by environmentalists, and even by some of their own MPs.

”If an alcoholic assured you he was taking his condition very seriously, but also laying in a 40-year store of bourbon, you’d be entitled to doubt his sincerity.”

(Bill McKibben, quoted by Greta Thunberg)

HP

So, to hold this government to account, I am suggesting contacting your MP (whether Liberal or other), and the PM’s office, asking for an immediate commitment to the following:

1) Immediate end to all fossil fuel subsidies, no new fossil fuel or nuclear projects and a rapid phase out of existing projects, with all funds put towards clean projects/sustainability.

2) Support for immediate implementation of Proportional Representation, to give the Green Party and others the voice that they rightfully deserve at the table.

3) Substantial climate targets – with annual and 5-year goals – that are in line with the best science. A theoretical aim to be climate neutral by 2050 is meaningless. If they need something easy to grasp, how about this? 1% reduction/month = approx 10% per year, which then leads to carbon neutral in 10 years, and carbon negative after that. 🙂

I have heard, too often, from a few Liberals (those that I have spoken to about this, which is obviously not a representative sample), that anything that they do has to be considered “good enough”, and we shouldn’t complain, because others – parties or provinces or countries or whoever they can find – are doing less. However, doing the right thing is not a race to the bottom, there is a lot of room for improvement, and it needs to start now. 🙂

Hi all,

It’s been a while since I did a petition update – here is where things are at:

School Funding: – End Discriminatory Funding for Catholic, Public and Independent Schools in Ontario

– We are at almost 3,000 signatures. It’s great start, but we have a long ways to go. To be clear, this is completely in favour of a strong public system. We are simply asking that the discrimination of funding Catholics only be ended and a newer, more just funding model be established. 🙂

PR– Enact Electoral Reform and Proportional Representation in Canada

– This one is fairly new, and is getting close to 500 signatures. There are countless people working on this issue., and change must happen soon. First Past the Post (FPTP) is divisive and contributes to polarization. We were promised change by the current Liberal goverment and they have backed down on their word. With enough pressure, from enough places, Canada will still get a PR system, in line with best democratic practices. 🙂

If you have questions, check my website, the petition websites or others that are working on this issue (eg FairVote Canada). 🙂

Here are a few glimmers of light:

Guardian to ban advertising from fossil fuel firms: Guardian

CBC.ca: Sobeys removing plastic bags from its stores on Friday. Other single use plastics bans hopefully coming soon, based on several reports of possible movement with the Canadian federal government.

Public opinion, though, will need some work, at least in some circles. We were picking up a few things at a Zehrs location yesterday, and the person bagging noticed our cloth bags, but still tried to put things into a plastic bag. When we declined, he said something like “Well, if you don’t want single use plastic bags, why don’t you go to Sobeys instead of shopping here?” Instead of walking away and talking my business somewhere else right then, I suggested that Zehrs match Sobeys and get rid of the single use plastic, as well. Not sure that he got the message, but at least I said it – and I doubt that he is responsible for the corporate decision-making at Zehrs, anyways. Hopefully change will come sooner rather than later, because single use plastic (of all kinds) is a change that I have been requesting for a long time. 🙂

I’m currently reading the updated China Study – haven’t looked through their work in detail since reading the earlier edition many years ago.

In addition to the overwhelming environmental evidence in support of a whole foods, plant-based diet, this adds in comprehensive health information regarding the benefits of ditching meat, dairy and eggs, while emphasizing the benfits of fruit and veggies, legumes (and other plant-based protein) and whole grains, such as brown rice etc. It’s a detailed read. If you are looking for quicker options, the website and apps, as well as the movie etc, are much faster ways to access the information.

Happy Reading! 🙂