Riders on this float illustrate that Christmas is for all ages as they pass by the delighted crowds at the 2009 Campbellford Santa Claus Parade in Ontario, Canada.
Dec 23
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
A Post by Steve Carlson, Entertainment, People, Photos
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Dec 13
Women and Children First
A Post by Steve Carlson, Government, Health
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The second wave of the H1N1 flu was washing across the country before the vaccine arrived this fall. Government told us that only designated high-risk groups would receive the first shots, the rest of the population would have to wait their turn. I didn’t dwell much on this preferential treatment until a friend, who is a medical doctor, surprised me one day with his comment about this government directive. He told me that the process was “unfair” and that everybody should have had equal access to the vaccine when it was first released. Continue reading »
Dec 07
Mighty Miniatures of Quinte
A Post by Steve Carlson, History, Photos, Travel
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Did you know that until World War II, the only land links spanning Canada from coast to coast were railway tracks? It’s true, the war stimulated the Canadian government to build roads between small towns north of Lake Superior (where I was raised) so motor vehicle traffic could eventually cross the country, too. There were good reasons. Three sets of track stretched over this area. If German saboteurs ever blew up three bridges simultaneously, our country’s only method of land transportation would have been severed, at least temporarily. Continue reading »
Nov 17
Classic, But Still In Style
A Post by Steve Carlson, Health, Photos
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When the mighty oak sheds its last leaf and I have to use a scraper to remove frost from my windshield that can mean only one thing — flu season is in full swing. And what a bang it’s made in the media this fall. Swine flu is pandemic. Athletes and boards of directors jumping the queue for inoculation. Strident voices screaming at politicians for botching the emergency measures supposedly in place to protect us citizens. Continue reading »
Nov 12
“Psssst, buddy! Want to buy a death bond? They’re the most exciting, new investment on the street today. Get ’em while they’re hot.” Hardly, at least in Canada, but I saw them pop-up in an article in The Globe and Mail last month. Death bonds are the catchy name for life settlement securitizations that are bundled life insurance policies sold, in this case, as bonds. Profits to investors come from the death benefits paid by the life insurance companies. Death can’t come too soon to maximize returns.
The article quoted life insurers’ ethical reactions to death bonds. Frank Zinatelli, Vice-President of legal services at the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association that represents most of the life insurers in Canada said, “From an ethical context, you’re betting that someone will die. It doesn’t have the right smell.” Continue reading »
