Harry Shannon
I sent the article below to the Calgary Herald as a possible contribution to their Opinion page. I haven’t even had an acknowledgement.
Some context: I wrote this after hearing the Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on the news. Kenney and his government have tried to keep the province’s economy open during the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Category: Uncategorized
Proposal for a Museum (or Museums)
Harry Shannon
You probably read about the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol. Amid the protests over the police killing of George Floyd, it was pulled off its pedestal, rolled to the harbour, and pushed into the water.
I grew up in England, but I had never heard of Colston. Yet his name “permeates the city [Bristol] on buildings and landm…
Doug Ford’s tragic mismanagement
Harry Shannon
Another unpublished letter sent to the Toronto Star.
Mostly self-explanatory, and not saying much that hasn't been said already. But I was trying to put it all together and join some dots. In fact, over the last week since I sent the letter, there has been a fair amount of criticism of Doug Ford and his (Ontario) government. F…
News Flash! Province to remove number ‘13’ from crossing countdowns.
Harry Shannon
Premier Doug Ford today announced what he called ‘a new
world-leading safety measure.’ In a
first, Ontario will in future not allow the number ‘13’ on traffic
signals. Currently, when traffic lights
show pedestrians how long they have before the lights will change, ‘13’ appears
if the countdown is longer th…
Eton school, please stop what you’re doing.
Harry Shannon
I was born and raised in the UK, so I pay some attention to what's going on there.
A while ago I heard the headmaster of the British school Eton justifying its ultra-exclusivity and the fact that almost all its students are from very rich families. (Eton actually calls itself a ‘College’.) The headmaster claimed that ma…
Media Hype? Check the Numbers
Unless you’ve been under the proverbial rock for the last few weeks, you’ll know that the TV show Game of Thrones (GoT) has just aired its final episode. It has had eight seasons.
Clearly fans of GoT were really into the show (although I
gather that they weren’t so enthusiastic about the final season). Based on the attention in th…
My letter in the Hamilton Spectator, May 14
Background: This letter responded to one a few days earlier in the Hamilton Spectator. That letter in turn was commenting on the story in the paper about Rabbi David Mivasair, who went to the West Bank to help repair a road used by Palestinian villagers to access health care, etc. He was arrested by Israeli forces.
RE: RABBI’S VIEWS CLASH…
My letter in the Toronto Star, May 14
Background to this letter: The Conservative government in Ontario opposes the federal carbon tax, claiming it is ineffective. Premier Doug Ford is taking the matter to the courts. As well, Ford has talked about increasing speed limits on Ontario highways. My letter was joining some dots.
Re He who tweets by gas prices, dies by gas prices,…
Econ 101 Pop Quiz
It seems the economic policy known as ‘supply-side’ has made a comeback in the U.S. under Donald Trump.
The underlying idea was, I understand, proposed by Arthur Laffer in the 1970s and formed the basis of Ronald Reagan’s approach in his presidency. The claim is that if taxes are reduced, society as a whole will benefit becaus…
How I lost three hours to Summer Time
Harry
Shannon
Spring forward, Fall back; so goes the saying. Which means you ‘lose’ one hour when the clocks go forward in Spring.
Yet I
managed to lose three! I was in Canada
for the first one on 10 March. North
America extended the summer time period some years ago. The U.S. Congress were pretending they were
takin…