Covid Journal, March 8, 2021
New Canadian Media Champions
Lately, I’ve been linking to a few up and coming media champions and thought I’d summarize the biggest and best of the group:
- The Tyee – mostly west coast focused, but excellent in-depth articles. Politics in general, but also some unique twists on the environment.
- Rabble.ca – central Canada (Ontario), heavy union focus, but still reasonably objective. Many of their contributors might be considered ‘lighter’ in terms of stature and experience, but they make up for it with passion and integrity.
- Press Progress – funded and produced in collaboration with the Broadbent Institute, an organization which is essentially the left or progressive equivalent of the Manning Institute.
- Passage – any journalists or reporters that zero in on the insane waste of military funding have my vote.
- CanadaLand.com – my fast-rising favourite. I love the F-U style of Jesse Brown and his partners. They raise money via Patreon and also a handful of advertisers. Their audience is growing, so if you’re looking for a place to support with ad dollars, this is the place.
- Breach Media – this is coming down the pipe and will be launched very soon (at least according to the newsletter). I look forward to hearing voices like Linda McQuaig and others dig in with issues of inequity, environment and sustainable business happening in Canada and around the world.
‘Cancel Culture’: A Go-to Phrase for the Privileged That Should Be … Cancelled.
I hear the phrase ‘cancel culture’ being thrown all the time and the most common carriers of this phrase are the typical crowd that feel like equity in society comes at a cost to their own personal freedoms.
Nothing could be further from the truth, but here’s a cute caption reminding of the balance / imbalance associated with ‘cancel culture’:
So … I vote for cancelling the phrase ‘cancel culture’. It comes from a position of privilege and fear of losing control over so many other people in society.
Vaccines: Beneficial CBC Comparison Article
It’s worth checking out when you have a moment, particularly if you aren’t sure which you’d ‘prefer’ (although I’m not sure if ‘choice’ is an option).
What’s missing is a handful of vaccines being developed mostly via public funds or 100% public ownership, including the following:
- Russia’s Sputnik V
- Cuba’s government-developed vaccines, four in total (each at various stages of approval and distribution)
- India’s Covishield and Covaxin vaccines (developed via a public/private partnership)
- China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccine
- And probably dozens of other government-developed protections
I can’t wait for people to bristle with apprehension concerning recommendations to source vaccines from publicly run socialist organizations given that the fundamental logic of vaccination (ie. herd immunity) is rooted in socialism and not the Ayn Rand me-first kind of libertarian thinking.