Trump, Democratic Dictator

Africa

I have spent a lot of time in Africa. I have seen dictators at work. They are characterized by:

- They usually take power by a coup d'etat (but not always).

- At the beginning of their reign they make wonderful promises to all.

- With time these dictators surround themselves with a group of sycophants. These surrounding henchmen (they are usually all men) share in the power and perks of office. They also make it difficult to remove the dictator.

The End of Environmental Protection? or, So heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good

It has been a tumultuous beginning to the Trump presidency. Resistance numbers have been greater than his support numbers. Denial has reached new heights with the emergence of “alternative facts”, otherwise known as lies that fly in the face of clear evidence.

Reflections on interview from Davos with Anthony Scaramucci on the US Outlook

I just watched the recent interview from Davos with Anthony Scaramucci on the US Outlook, the new Assistant to President Donald Trump and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.

The basic question here is, can a wealthy business man come up with a political policy that really benefits a wide swath of the working middle class?

Professor Michael Sandel: Interview from Davos 2017 (patriotism, future of work, etc.)

I highly recommend the Financial Times interview of Harvard Professor Michael Sandel at the 2017 Davos World Economic Forum.

Book Review: BIOCENTRISM - How Life and Consciousness are the keys to understanding the true nature of the universe By Robert Lanza MD and Bob Berman

When I was a young engineering student at the University of Toronto, we all had to take a required philosophy course. In one session the lecturer embarked upon the classical question, “If a tree falls in the forest when no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I could hardly resist not getting up and leaving the class. Is this the nonsense that philosophers occupy themselves with? If the tree falls, all of our scientific evidence tells us that there will be pressure waves emitted in the air. If a person or other sentient being is there, this will be detected as sound, if not the pressure waves will still be emitted. End of story.

Civil Rights -- Again

Two days ago, John Lewis, an American congressman from Georgia was interviewed on CBC radio here in Canada. Listening to him brought my mind back to an event in August, 1965 which occurred in Americus, Georgia.

A group of six of us, John Lewis, two black friends, a Jewish woman, with my wife and I, tried to enter an all white Baptist church to worship. We were stopped at the door by a group of church deacons and leaders. John Lewis had some words with them.

Mythology: A modern interpretation

I am an engineer. I have also spent five years studying theology. Now about 50 years later I ask myself, what did I learn during those years in seminary? The one thing that I finally grasped is the role of mythology in shaping society.

What is mythology? It is a story that society tells to itself to explain its raison d'être (reason for being). And what are the characteristics of the mythological story?

Solar energy dialogue: A reply to Mr. McGruer [UPDATED]

My dialogue with David McGruer continues... 

Hello David,

Just a few comments.

Never before has humanity been so numerous and so advanced technologically, which means we have never before spewed so much of our waste products into the atmosphere. At the same time an overwhelming number of scientists say we are the main cause of the well documented rise in global temperatures lately. It intrigues me why anyone should so adamantly dispute this.

US Politics: America and guns

This is about the strange phenomenon of gun laws and usage in the United States. As I see it they are trapped by their own history and traditions. In fact, we are all to some extent trapped by the past of our particular group or nation. The USA story goes something like this.

Israel-Palestine: Response to Robert Sibley op-ed

Click the "Read more" link below to view my response to the following opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

Link: "Obama sets the stage for another war in the Middle East" by Robert Sibley

Presumably Barack Obama will return his Nobel Peace Prize now that he’s created the conditions for another Middle East war.

Vietnam Trilogy

During the 60s and early 70s, the war in Vietnam was tearing apart US society. Resistance to this war was also creating a whole generation of anti-war activists. The following three articles reflect my thinking at the time.