Hello Again

The other day as I was getting into the classroom, and girl followed me in, apparently wanting to speak with me.  Turned out she thought I was the prof, and she wanted to ask if she could make an announcement to the class.

I guess the age shows, eh?

Damn it, I am just a fellow student!

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This coronavirus thing is really serious business.  How can you not feel bad for those who are caught in the middle, like the millions in those quarantined cities, or the thousands trapped on cruise ships?  I am no medical scientist, but certainly there are parallels easily discerned between this and SARS.

Fifteen years ago some colleagues and I published two articles on SARS and how it was poorly managed.  Ironically, one of them was titled "It Will Happen Again..."  I wish we had been wrong.  We articulated all the errors that were made in managing the crisis, and concluded that the same shit would hit the fan again because totalitarian governments never learn.

Guess what?  I am actually very sad to say we were right.

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This is reading week.  The week after I have another midterm, and after that, a book review and another midterm.  And after that, three term papers and a research project.  Following that, final exams on the way.  This has been one hell of a semester.

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It's been bloody cold in Ottawa the last little while.  Most nights it's been -25 not including the windchill.  A couple of days ago, we had a windchill of -35.  I tell you, that's when you realize nothing short of Canada Goose (and similar brands) is warm enough.  Amazingly, life goes on, and some even bicycle to work and school.  Let me tell ya, Ottawa folks are a very hardy type.

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Some of you may know about the debacle surrounding the oil pipelines in Canada.  Anyway, some of these pipelines run on indigenous grounds.  Here's the problem.  Not that all the indigenous people are against it.  Indeed, a lot of the tribes actually want the pipeline, because it means jobs etc.  But there are also those who don't want it.  So lately those who are against the pipelines have received sympathy action from other tribes in non-pipeline locations.  For example, some are blocking train traffic in Ontario, bringing the rail system to a standstill.

What is the government to do?  Ignorant people would jump on the indigenous bandwagon and decry colonialism etc.  They ignore those indigenous groups who welcome the pipeline.  Others want to send in the army and just clear away the protestors.  They ignore those who have legitimate concerns.  Continuing the standoff is not a solution either, because it has a major impact on the economy.

There are no simple solutions.  Why does anyone want to be a political leader is beyond me.  Well, some want personal glory and the trappings of position.  But if one genuinely cares about the society, being a political leader is a sure-fire way to result in spontaneous combustion.

I say just nuke the world and start afresh.