The Shore

The Shore

Friday, January 5, 2018

Wind, Cannabis, apprehension of children, minimum wage and more



So made it thorough a wild night of crazy wind (up to 120km an hour gusts) - no snow though.  Trees down in front of/beside our house but all belong to neighbours. . . although two are in our driveway they are on the house side of both cars - Assume eventually construction workers building new house next door will deal with it --   on Monday if not before.  We have power and warmth and light and internet etc. (113,000 NS Power customers without power this morning - never privatize your power company!!!!) )   All happily in place with one son, wife and grand child, and waiting for the other son and family to arrive for another "Christmas" at our house.   So happy. 
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Well thank goodness for the occasional judge that can literally see through the DCS judgment.


"An impoverished Halifax-area couple have regained custody of their toddler daughter, after a judge declared: "There is a difference between parents who are poor, and poor parents."   . . .
"The province's community services minister argued in court there is a "real chance" of harm if the girl is returned to her parents.
"But the judge noted the woman has had no mental-health crises for 17 months, and previously sought help when needed. She said the woman works as a babysitter, and has extensive experience caring for five younger siblings, and is "a confident, competent and capable care-giver."
"Parents who have poor mental health are not deprived of their children: parents whose poor mental health puts their children at risk and who do not seek needed treatment are," Jollimore said in her ruling."
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Lots of blow back in Ontario on minimum wage increase. . . and media playing their part by publishing lots of articles about how the increase will hurt minimum wage workers.

Although I cannot find the article this second - many news articles were about how 50-60,000 thousand jobs will be lost because of it - but the truth is that they are only predicating a slow down in job growth, NO job losses in fact.  And yet many headlines repeated this error. . . 

Michael Coren wrote a great piece (will wonders never cease - not the first time - amazing watching his views change over the last decades) saying in part: "The response seldom has anything to do with economics but is about control and even humiliation. Critics believe that those earning minimum wage somehow deserve to go without, need to pay a price for some imagined sin of failure or lack of ambition. Minimum wage is in their eyes punitive. Listen to talk radio, read right-wing columnists and we see a contemporary Calvinism, a perverse form of predestination where the undeserving poor need to know their place.
. . .
"
When, for example, it’s revealed that business leaders are to receive bonuses on already astronomical salaries we never hear that this will lead to inflation or the need to reduce the number of bosses. On the contrary, the same types who oppose minimum wage increases explain that only such munificence will attract the best, even though the evidence indicates otherwise."

Tons of other great pieces on the minimum wage defense.  . .

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This article in Wired is from the summer,  but I just read it and found it fascinating: https://www.wired.com/story/this-pill-promises-to-extend-life-for-a-nickel-a-pop/
Metformin - that is used primarily to stabilize blood sugar in diabetics  may be the key to living, maybe not longer,  but healthier for longer - so more years of good health and ability - still perhaps getting cancer or heart disease,  but much later. . . Sounds good to me - I would love more years of health to enjoy the world. 
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There seems to be an assumption in this story that Cannabis use is way worse than alcohol.  Why is it any different than not allowing people to be drunk on the job?  Why need different methods or processes? It uses language like
Do you want some bozo driving a tank to be strung out? No," said Stuart Hendin, a lawyer and instructor at the Royal Military College and Canadian Forces College.
"strung out" on weed? Miriam Webster describes strung out as addicted or physically debilitated from long term drug use.  Cannabis does neither of those things on its own.   You can develop a "habit" but there are no physical symptoms from stopping use -  just psychological ones. . . there seems to be real panic as if there is not much difference between cannabis and heroin (a la Jeff Sessions) The Military seems a little panicked and the press are not asking questions about their lack of science/medical knowledge.

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