Harry Shannon
We all want to know how the pandemic will play out. Sorry, I don’t.
But some groups are doing mathematical modelling to try to predict what will happen. The statistician George Box famously noted that all models are wrong but some are useful. His point was that a model is an attempt to describe some aspect of the world in mat…
Trump: ‘I predicted the coronavirus’
Harry Shannon
In a remarkable press briefing today, President Donald Trump told reporters that he had predicted the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
Trump had been widely ridiculed for a tweet he made on 31 May, 2017 just after midnight. It read: ‘Despite the constant negative press covfefe” and there was much speculation on what the w…
“We’re Number One” – Trump
Harry Shannon
As the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. climbed above the total in Italy to become the highest in the world, Donald Trump claimed: ‘Thanks to me, we’re number one.’
In a rambling press conference, Trump said: ‘Several other countries have tried to beat us, but they haven’t succeeded. Countries like Ita…
My latest letter in the Toronto Star
Harry Shannon
Background: We are hearing a lot from political leaders urging us to follow social (physical) distancing guidelines. On Thursday morning (April 2) I heard Toronto mayor John Tory on CBC radio’s morning show doing just that. Unfortunately, his style of talking is to speak very fast, barely pausing for breath, so interviewers …
A post on, you guessed it, coronavirus and COVID-19
Harry Shannon
Some thoughts on the coronavirus and its impact.
I am not paying attention any more to the number of new confirmed cases. That’s because, as far as I can tell, whether someone is tested is rather arbitrary: has the person sought care; does the person have symptoms; how severe are the symptoms; are there enough testing kits; h…
How Breitbart creates fake news on coronavirus – though maybe unintentionally
Harry Shannon
You have no doubt heard of the far-right web site
Breitbart. It makes Fox News look timid
and centrist. As for accuracy … um,
consider this.
On March 17, 2020, they published a story about coronavirus. Well, they published a lot of stories on the topic, but one headline caught my eye.
It read: ‘Study: 86 pe…
Try living on the minimum wage – my letter in the Hamilton Spectator
Harry Shannon
Background: A story in the paper on March 3 reported that Hamilton (Ontario) city council turned down a proposal to pay various workers a living wage. The vote was 14-4 against.
My letter was just one of three in today's (March 7) paper criticizing the decision. There was a fourth letter on the topic. It began: 'A living wa…
Paying for public transit – my latest letter in the Toronto Star
Harry Shannon
Background: This was published today, 12 February, with the heading 'The ultra-rich should pay their fair share.' It follows stories about fare evasion on the Toronto Transit system (TTC), and a piece by the columnist Matt Elliott. (The italics in the final sentence got lost in the editorial process - they weren't in the printe…
“I’d do anything for my kids” … except leave them a world they can live in
Harry Shannon
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison admitted in a press
conference today that he won’t change his government’s climate policy. “We mine and export coal, and burn it here to
produce electricity. It’s just too
important for the economy not to do it,” he said.
When reporters asked him about the future fo…
Who likes Poutine?
Harry Shannon
In the Anglo-Saxon world, the President of Russia’s name is spelled Vladimir Putin. So I was surprised to see how the French write his surname. The picture is a still from the CBC’s nightly news show ‘The National’ on 29 December.
Here’s an idea for Margaret Atwood. Her book this year, ‘The Testaments,’ …