What Brian Williams brouhaha and UFFI have in common: Torquing.

Years after the damage was done, Harris Mitchell told the rest of the UFFI story.

It seems the media are appalled that NBC news anchor Brian Williams embellished a story. Yes the story involved Williams himself and this puts a little extra wobble in the usual spin but pumping up stories is all-too-common in the media. It even has a name: torquing.

As everyone now knows, Brian Williams claimed that while he was covering the war in Iraq the chopper in which he was riding was hit by enemy fire and forced to land. It's a great war story for a journalist, unfortunately his harrowing first-person account isn't true. Williams was in a following aircraft. His aircraft drew no fire. As Mark Twain said: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story."

A fellow with whom I worked at The London Free Press in London, Ontario, left the paper rather than torque a story. Sent to cover what the editorial department heads believed would be a sensational trial, he returned with a relatively dull tale. The courtroom drama failed to gel. With lots of space set aside for a front page story, a non-story wasn't acceptable. The reporter was ordered to torque his piece, to inflate it and fill the space. He refused. Rather than knuckle under he cleaned out his desk and bid the paper adieu. Another reporter, a more malleable one, was assigned the task of torquing the story.

I can't tell you how many times I watched reporters twist stories. One occasion that still roils me up involved a small child lost over-night in a cornfield. The little girl wandered into the tall, mature corn at sunset. Police were called and the field searched. When the police left sometime after midnight, the child had not yet been found.

At daybreak a helicopter arrived and flew over the corn field still cold and damp with early morning dew. Inside the chopper a passenger aimed an infrared thermographic camera at the field. Soon the high tech tool, normally used to detect heat loss in buildings, had pinpointed the location of the child. Despite mild hypothermia, the sleeping little girl's cool body was still much warmer than the surrounding soil.

Although it made a great story in the morning edition — high tech saves child — the high tech angle wouldn't save the story in the afternoon edition. And so the reader-pleasing slant to the story was born. According to a later edition, the child could have been found earlier if only the insights of an area psychic had been followed. While television and radio were still hawking the high tech angle, the paper ran with paranormal angle.

Of course, the psychic story wasn't true. Both the reporter and I were at the farmhouse all night. There was a reason the reporter hadn't given the psychic much weight in the first story and I hadn't spent time in the darkroom printing pictures. The psychic had been of no help whatsoever.

But, as the day wore on, and interest in the high tech angle wore thin, the psychic saviour looked better and better. The paranormal story got torqued.

Which brings us to one of the best known torqued stories in the history of journalism: the UFFI scare story. Admittedly, more was at work here than simply pumping up the dramatic value of a story. There is an unhealthy amount of Steven Colbert's "Truthiness" at work here, as well.

Urea formaldehyde foam insulation — UFFI — was forced off the market in Canada decades ago. Yet, even today folks selling homes in Ontario are asked if their homes contains UFFI. Banned in Canada in 1980, UFFI is occasionally still used in Europe. And after briefly being banned in the States it is back in limited use there as well.

Fear of Foam: Harris Mitchell

Why is a product deemed unsafe in Canada legal everywhere else? The E.U. is well known for being quick to hit the "ban button." Think of genetically modified foods, pesticides for increased food production, bovine growth hormone, chlorinated chicken, food dye and more. UFFI is not quite ho-hum in Europe but neither is it a scare-you-out-of-your-pants story either.

The reason for the continuing Canadian UFFI scare story is simple. The media loves a good story and one about killer insulation is a beaut. It is not true but it is still a beaut. Sadly, the story has hurt a great many Canadians — both home owners whose homes lost value because of the story and small, private business owners who lost everything when their insulation businesses closed after the foam, installed using expensive specialized equipment, was made illegal.

I'm not surprised the UFFI story is now known by many to be false. I was certain the story was torqued when it originally broke in Canada. CBC Marketplace still brags on its Internet site that it "did several groundbreaking reports on it [UFFI] 20 years ago."

Why was I certain? Because I had insulated a fifty year old home with the foam. After reading everything I could, I settled on UFFI. In use in Europe for years, it was a proven product.

From the brochure for Insulspray by Borden that I was given.

I had the Borden Chemical Company product, Insulspray, injected into the hollow walls of my home. The installer told us that the UFFI would not damage our wall by expanding and forcing the aging plaster off the laths nor would it cause any other pressure related damage. He assured us that the foam would shrink as it dried. This would reduce the insulation value a little but insure a damage-free installation.

After tens of thousands of Canadian homes were insulated with UFFI, many with government assistance, insulation horror stories began circulating. I recall being incredibly angry about the attacks made by Marketplace. For instance, Marketplace made a big deal out of the shrinkage. It was great television but poor science and poor news reporting. They acted as if the shrinkage was unexpected and a problem. Neither was true.

Three metal fasteners in UFFI for years and no corrosion.

Newspaper editors saw the Marketplace story and felt scooped. Newsrooms across Canada scrambled to retell the Marketplace story but with a local angle. The scare spread and politicians caved to media pressure. UFFI was banned. More than a quarter of a million Canadian homes required the removal of the foam from hard to reach exterior wall cavities where it had been injected, often with government assistance.

I recall one story on which I worked. Since being insulated, a local home had had a string of residents taken by ambulance to the hospital and the indoor air had a hazy quality.

When I visited the home I learned that the home was being used as a defacto old age home. All those taken to the hospital were seniors. The health emergencies should have come as no surprise.

And why was there hazy air? Hazy air that the paper made such a big deal about. The answer is simple: The home, draft free since installation of the foam, had all windows sealed with tightly taped plastic. As most of the residents were smokers, the home was filled with a haze of tobacco smoke.  

The energy saving measures had cut air infiltration to almost zero. The smoke was no longer being diluted by outside air. The haze was no mystery.
  
Most news stories are good stories but not all are true. The Brian Williams Iraq War fable is not out of place in the world of journalism. Torquing a story has a long, well respected history.
________________________________________________
For more on the present thinking on UFFI, read: Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation (UFFI)

It is hard to go wrong with good ingredients

It snowed yesterday and the city failed to plow our street. We were stuck. I had planned on going to the nearby grocery store but with the deep snow I decided not to walk nor to drive. Too cold to walk and too difficult to drive. I decided to make do with the ingredients in the house.

I had a cauliflower I got on sale at Metro and some cherry tomatoes from Costco. First, I fried the tomatoes in a little olive oil in a large wok. After a couple of minutes I added some minced garlic. When the tomatoes began to split, I put them in a small, colourful roasting pan. I put a dab of tomato pesto on each, spread some sun-dried tomatoes and grated Parmesan cheese on top and put the pan in the oven to bake at 350-degrees.

While frying the tomatoes, I lightly cooked the cauliflower in the microwave. After moving the tomatoes into the oven, I added the cauliflower to the remaining olive oil in the wok. I also added a little more minced garlic. I fried the cauliflower until it started to brown while taking care not to burn the garlic.

While frying the cauliflower, I partially cooked some butternut squash in the microwave. Before the cauliflower had browned, I added the squash to the wok. Then, I added about 18 coarsely chopped cashews. When the cauliflower browned, I mixed the cauliflower, squash and nuts thoroughly together before spooning all into a small rectangular Emile Henry roasting pan. I sprinkled some chopped broad leaf parsley and grated Parmesan cheese on top and placed this dish, too, in the oven to bake.

With two pans roasting in the oven, I baked the remaining butternut squash in the microwave with a little butter. Actually, I used Becal margarine as my doctor has ordered me to forgo butter. The squash may seem redundant but actually it adds a much needed focal point to what had to be a meatless dinner -- more directions from my heart doctor.

A big slice of butternut squash looked great on each plate. The cauliflower and squash mixture also looked nice. And the tomatoes not only looked great but they tasted absolutely wonderful. Hot, full of flavour, with a taste nicely accented by both pesto and dried tomatoes.

Leaving meat out of the dinner made it healthy for me and point-friendly for my Weight-Watchers-attending wife. Buying the ingredients on sale and at Costco kept the price low. As I've said before, there is no reason to spend a lot on food in retirement unless you want something expensive and special. (And often even those ingredients can be bought on sale. Here I'm thinking of lobster.)

When reporters warn seniors about the possibility of eating pet food in retirement, I shake my head in disbelief.

Mixed use development coming to London

Near the end of a discussion about a rapid transit development plan for London, the city’s planning chief John Fleming asked: “Why not us? Why can’t we have what other cities have?"

The London Free Press reporter, Randy Richmond, continued on the same tack, asking in his recent story, "Why can’t we be one of the cool cities?" Richmond openly wondered why we can have what Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and Ottawa have and London doesn't.

Why stop with the usual short list of similarly sized Ontario cities? Why not find inspiration not just from cities within the province but from cities outside the province, even outside the country? If we are going to dream, let's dream big.

Think of City Crossing in Luohu, Shenzhen, China with its dramatic mix of uses: retail, commercial and residential. City Crossing - RTKL. Done right, a mixed use development like this would give the London downtown some competition as a destination spot and this might be good. A richer, more vibrant city benefits everyone.

In Calgary, the site of the historical Dominion Bridge steel foundry is slated to be transformed into possibly one of the most vibrant mixed-use developments in the region. The site promises to be a dense, mixed-use district incorporating smart growth with sustainable strategies to create a walkable neighborhood. Dominion Bridge at Ramsay Exchange - RTKL

Makes one wonder what could be done with the former Galleria Mall in downtown London. Built for more than a 100 million it last traded hands for a fraction of its original value. If ugly, former industrial sites can be transformed what could be done with the former Galleria Mall?

Actually, it is half way to conversion today after changes including the name. Both former anchors, one an Eatons and the other a Hudson Bay, have been repurposed with the city's Central Library in the one.

Add an apartment tower, possibly condominiums, drop a grocery store into the mix and could the old luxury mall become a successful mixed use destination? 

If Calgary can do it with an old foundry, why can't London do it with an old mall?

Attention The London Free Press: Bring back the editors

When it comes to writing about urban planning, there’s a lot of stuff Randy Richmond gets wrong. Richmond is clearly a good writer but he sorely needs a good editor.

Richmond gets more than names wrong in his story on urban transit.

For instance, Richmond quotes Yonak Freemark. The name is Yonah. Oops! A good editor checks things like the spelling of names.

And despite the column inches Richmond devotes to transportation analyst David Hartgen, the reporter fails to mention it is no surprise that Hartgen is critical of the Charlotte, N.C., LYNX system. A good editor would find a way to tell the reader that the analyst is not a supporter of expensive, expanding public transit in general.

Hartgen believes a community can build its way out of a transportation mess, a traffic congestion nightmare. How? By adding road capacity. For Hartgen, the car is the answer.

Popping the ideas of David Hartgen into a story without telling readers that Hartgen is not just a simple transit critic but he is a promoter of one particular transit approach is not telling the whole story. As I said at the beginning, The London Free Press needs to hire more editors. Good editors keep good writers good.

Some things last too long

"Valet" AutoStrop Safety Razor

One of my nephews, along with his wife and young daughter, stopped by for a visit recently. I'm posting this ad for the Valet AutoStrop safety razor for him. He'll be interested in this as he is very concerned with waste. I can understand his concern as I've been against waste all my life.

When I was in high school I used a Valet AutoStrop razor. I sharpened the blade on a strip of leather which had belonged to my dad. He had used it once to sharpen a straight razor; my mother used it to spank her son: me.

I still have the razor along with a box or two of blades. The blades are single sided with the name Valet completely punched out. The metal missing from the blade leaves letters which overlay raised bits of metal in the razor head itself. This interlocking system holds the blade firmly in place.

The company that made the Valet razor stopped producing the razors in the late '40s, I believe. But the blades were available in stores until the mid '60s. When I worked at a drugstore in the early '60s, I can recall selling the red packages of blades to diehard Valet AutoStrop users. They swore by these blades. Some claimed to get two months of shaves from one blade. It was important, though, to keep the blades sharp by correctly using the unique leather strop which by the '60s was no longer available. A box of five blades, which cost less than a dollar, would last the better part of a year, according to these users.

When Wilkinson-Sword came out with the stainless steel double-sided safety razor blade, the market for the Valet product began to dry up. The stainless steel blades seemed to last indefinitely compared to the common Gillette blue blades which were prone to rust between uses. Often, one got one shave, and one shave only, from these carbon steel blades. The rule for Gillette users was "If it's a new morning, it's a new blade."

Some men tried to prevent the rust by submerging used blue blades in a small glass filled with rubbing alcohol. It was a lot of trouble and there was the constant risk of the tumbler being knocked to the floor and broken. Squeezing more shaves out of Wilkinson blade was a little easier. Some users stropped the shiny blades by rubbing them back and forth on the inside of large glass.

The Wilkinson blades didn't last as long as the Valet blades but they gave a closer shave when new. Sales of the the old blades softened and the blades once famous for their longevity disappeared from stores.

But the longevity record does not go to the Valet blades with their AutoStrop technology. No, this award may go to the Personna 74 tungsten steel blade released in the early '70s. These blades lasted so long that there was no money to be made in making them. With a microscopic layer of titanium protecting the edge, Personna took the concept of reusable too far. The carbon steel blades simply lasted and lasted and lasted. The Personna 74 was removed from the market.

I understand that the razor industry is worth $30 billion worldwide. Whether it is an AutoStrop system or superior blade technology, lasting too long isn't the goal today of manufacturers: It's sales. The inventor of the Valet system would be appalled by today's disposable razors sold in huge packages containing a dozen or more big, plastic razors. What a waste!

Food for fun and entertainment

Thanks to a poor heart, a lot of travel is out of our reach. No insurance; No out-of-country travel allowed for me and my wife. It is just that simple.

One advantage to this is that one big retirement expense has dropped from our budget. We are flush with unspent cash that was once budgeted for travel: plane fares, hotel rooms, expensive restaurants. Well, restaurants are actually still in our budget. London, Ontario, has some nice places to drop a dime. We especially liked our recent visit to the Spring Restaurant in an old church on Springbank Drive.

Still, my heart doctors have me on a Mediterranean diet and a lot of restaurant meals do not answer my dietary needs. Dining at home is a fine alternative. It is fun. Challenging might be a better word when I am in the kitchen.

The other day I saw some dark green rice ramen in Winners. Ramen is that noodle stuff many of us ate when single and in a hurry. It came in a noodle-filled box with some flavorful powder. It was flavorful if you count lots of salt as flavor. Peel back the foil covering the bowl shaped container, pour in some boiling water and within minutes one had a meal. I haven't had ramen in years.

When I saw the dark green ramen, it brought back memories and thoughts of I-can-do-better. I bought the package. I boiled it and a little too long, I might add. Then set it aside.

I fried some chopped red and yellow sweet peppers in a little olive oil in a large wok. I added some green onions to the mix and when the onions started to show signs of cooking, I added some chopped broccoli, diced cashews to the mix and four ounces of chopped cooked chicken we had leftover from a previous meal. I had some Indian sauce in the fridge, so added that with a little finely chopped garlic. With all nicely mixed, I added the still warm ramen noodles.

The dinner was tasty and healthy. It had lots of vegetables and very little meat. I overcooked the noodles slightly but I'll know better next time. All in all, a very good dinner with interesting ingredients. It was fun to make and a pleasure to eat. It went very nicely with our the five ounces of red wine we have each evening at dinner.

And it was inexpensive. Our budget is still awash with cash.

Why Ontario greenhouse operations are expanding into Ohio.

This is the time to form partnerships with grocery stores, restaurants, and food service industries, in order to persuade key players to support American agriculture products. In our communities, we need to exercise the power of the dollar. Make a conscious decision to buy American grown products.”
-- Aaron Preston - Future Farmers of America

Saturday I read an article on the reason greenhouse operations in Essex County are leaving the Leamington/Kingsville/Lakeshore area. It is because of electricity problems; it costs too much and the grid is inadequate. The article laid the blame on the governing Ontario Liberals.

"No Juice For Veggies" the headline read in a big, bold font. "Power problems push growers elsewhere" the reader on the Web was told and the writer should know. He's from the Leamington area and has relatives working in the greenhouse industry. Yet, like so many other Free Press articles, I was left with more questions than answers.

Leaving Essex County for Ohio simply to reap the benefits of being on  the American electrical grid seems a reach. As the International Business Times reports: "The United States endures more blackouts than any other developed nation. . . . " The American grid suffers from an increasing number of blackouts because of an aging infrastructure, a lack of investment and no clear plans guiding modernization. The Ontario Liberals are not alone at mismanaging the power grid and, make no mistake, they have mismanaged the grid. There is no argument there.

It's true that the little Southern Ontario town of Leamington and the surrounding area has lost jobs to the United States. At a city Economic Development Committee meeting a year ago, Chair Louis Saad raised the issue of incentives to encourage businesses to remain in town. It seems a local business owner was considering moving his company south of the border to benefit from the lower cost of living, the more favourable tax rate and the generally less expensive business environment in the United States.

Chair Saad was told it was illegal for the Municipality to give incentives to businesses. This was not news to Saad. He has complained in the past that "(The U.S.) has a lot of tax incentives that aren’t legal in Ontario." Saad argued Southern Ontario communities must be able to offer incentives in order to attract the companies that otherwise would take the jobs to Michigan and Ohio.

Mark Balkwill, president of the Essex County Federation of Agriculture, agreed. Balkwill has been quoted as saying that a major player in the greenhouse industry was opening an operation in Ohio after the state offered to match dollar for dollar any investment in production facilities. In addition, the state promised no property taxes during the first five years of operation.

Balkwill may have been referring to Nature Fresh Farms which stated in a press release that their move into Ohio was "contingent upon acceptable levels of incentives from the State of Ohio and other government authorities as well as utility rates agreeable to Nature Fresh." The Leamington grower may have received the incentives as there are no signs that the expansion is not going through.

And there is one other reason Canadian greenhouse operations are expanding into the States: Money. The United States is where the money is. And it is not just Canadians looking to expand into the States. Greenhouse growers in the Netherlands are actively looking for opportunities in the States.

A report released by Dutch greenhouse sector points out: "It is remarkable that the total area of greenhouse production in the US only amounts to 9.100 hectares, while in the Netherlands greenhouse production takes place under 10.400 hectares, (even though) the US is 244 times larger than the Netherlands and has almost 20 times the number of consumers. . . . the US greenhouse sector has some room to grow."

Historically the U.S. has imported most of their greenhouse grown food but in the past few years the domestic production has increased significantly. Why? A small part of the reason is a growing trend to buy foods grown locally whenever possible. This puts foods from both Mexico and Canada at a disadvantage and even Florida and California when one is considering the Midwestern and Northeastern markets.

The Meijer grocery store chain likes to brag that it has purchased from local growers since opening some 80 years ago in Greenville, Michigan. Today the chain brags it sells Michigan-grown tomatoes and sweet peppers supplied by Mastronardi of Coldwater, Michigan. Mastronardi was originally a Canadian greenhouse operator.

The "Buy America" movement touches the entire American market for consumer goods and is backed by politicians on both the right and left. In 2008, Barack Obama promised rural Ohio voters he would "enforce Buy American requirements to protect specialty crops." Fruits and vegetables are counted among specialty crops.

The Obama campaign literature claimed demand for locally grown foods was growing quickly. For this reason Obama supported the immediate implementation of the Country of Origin Labeling law. COOL would enable American consumers to distinguish imported foods from those grown within the States. Obama argued consumers "deserve the right to know where their food comes from."

EMD workers locked out without a hope of being called back.

When London, Ontario, lost Electro Motive Diesel a London Free Press columnist tweeted, "Electro- motive workers should give their assent to a team of shuttle diplomats."

Maybe, I thought, but I put far more faith in the words of John Hamilton, CEO of Electro-Motive Diesel. He told a House subcommittee: "In accordance with Buy American, we announced last week a search for a facility in which to perform final assembly."

To sell locomotives in the States, in any quantity, EMD was going to have to build those engines in the States. The closing of the London assembly plant should have come as a no surprise to anyone.

The other reasons given for closing the EMD plant were real but they were not the whole story. For instance, the problems with the electrical grid in Ontario are very real and electricity in the province is among the most expensive on the continent. But, when it comes to losing the expanding greenhouse industry to the States, our electrical problems are not the whole story. For instance, I've been told that the natural gas supply cannot be relied upon in the Leamington-Kingsville area of Essex County.

Some growers reportedly are installing biomass systems to work around the natural gas supply shortage problem. But this solution leads to other problems, such as what to supply the biomass system. One grower is looking at planting miscanthus, a fast growing exotic perennial grass species.

Reportedly, up to 25 percent of the power generating capacity in the state of Ohio is reaching the end of its lifespan. Replacing those power plants will be expensive and will take years. Cold weather pushes the present grid in Ohio to its limits.

When I did a search of electrical blackouts in Ohio, I discovered one outage about two and a half years ago left 450,000 folk across the state without power. A little more than two years ago 240,000 Cleveland residents lost power in a severe autumn storm. Some four years ago, 80,000 residents living near Lake Erie were without power because of an equipment failure caused by too many people overwhelming the grid by turning on their space heaters. Space heaters overtaxed the Ohio grid!

80,000 people left without power in Ohio by the use of too many space heaters

A similar search of Southwestern Ontario turned up one recent blackout affecting a mere 2,440 people. This is not to say The Free Press is wrong when it reports the Southern Ontario grid needs upgrading; It does. The power problems in Essex County have been big news this year. But if Canadian companies are moving to Ohio simply for the electricity, they may be making a mistake -- and they better think twice before turning on a space heater or anything else to heat a greenhouse.

Compared to Ohio, it appears Essex County offers far more reliable power.

Mucci Farms, greenhouse grower near Leamington, has facilities in Mexico, Holland, Spain, Guatemala. Why? Not just to avoid costly power.

— Rockinon (@RockinonLDN) January 22, 2015

Read story on greenhouse growing in Spain in EcoWatch.

Note the inclusion of Spain. Spain has an immense vegetable growing area under plastic, it is an entire peninsula converted to greenhouse status on the Mediterranean coast.

Already I have found sweet peppers for sale in London coming from Spain which were produced by an Essex County grower operating there.

Yes. A complex problem indeed.
________________________________________________

After writing this I happened upon this information released by the USDA more than two years ago. "Imports from Canada's hothouse tomato industry peaked in 2005, but have weakened with rising competition from Mexico." I'm sure the rising price of electricity in Essex County played a role in this but it is clear that much more is going on here. It is interesting to note that some of the Mexican competition is from companies owned by Leamington growers. Today I went to the neighbourhood Metro grocery store and two long sides of an island in the produce department were lined with Mexican tomatoes carrying the names of Leamington/Kingsville based growers.

The USDA article goes on to report, "Mexico now accounts for 71 percent of the U.S. import market for greenhouse tomatoes, while Canada's share has been reduced by half to 27 percent." By half!

And here is the kicker, "Greenhouse tomatoes, in fact, have taken a greater share of the U.S. fresh-market tomato industry. About three-fourths of U.S. fresh tomato exports are shipped to Canada . . . (furthermore) . . . During the early 1990s, the United States became a net exporter of processed tomato products and has remained so."

Is your child caring? Can you take credit?

Isla likes to share. It seems a natural way of approaching the world for my little granddaughter. I've never thought of taking any credit for her generous nature. But research done recently at Stanford University in the States, argues caregivers can take a few bows.

The most recent study conflicts with an earlier one done in 2006. At that time, a study found 18-month-old toddlers were willing to provide a helping hand without being prompted. Today researchers are no longer so certain altruistic behaviour is innate.

Now, Stanford psychologists believe altruistic behavior may be governed more by relationships than instincts. According to R.C. Barragan, a psychology graduate student at Stanford, "Kids are always on the lookout for social cues."

I am always amazed at what results from a dozen and a half years of education or more. Play with a child and they will be more likely to pick up an item that you dropped than if you made them play on their own while you ignored them while playing nearby.

I'm not at all surprised that if you play a simple game of catch with a child that kid will warm up to you. If you keep to yourself, mess about nearby on your own, don't be surprised when the kid acts distant. It think it should come as no surprise and you can thank your standoffish attitude for the coldness.

I feel uncomfortable taking too much credit for my granddaughter's sweet, oh-so-pleasant disposition. Maybe we, her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, have not so much inspired her as given her opportunity. As Barragan also pointed out, "If children trust the people in their world, they may have an easier time learning the culture of that world – effectively making it easier for them to achieve new levels of personal and interpersonal success."

Or, play ball with me and I'll share my grilled cheese with you.

The London Free Press: Vous n'êtes pas Charlie.

The local paper, The London Free Press, ran an article today with details surrounding the first issue of the French weekly Charlie Hebdo after the slaughter of many of the paper's senior editorial staff. The Free Press headline read: "Tearful Mohmamed on cover." The art accompanying the story showed the memorial to the victims which is growing larger by the day on the street near the magazine offices. The Free Press did not print a photo of the actual cover of the magazine. A description was all the paper dared print.

According to the paper, the weekly publication features "the most anticipated magazine cover in the world." As many as 3 million copies of Charlie Hebdo could be distributed with demand soaring. The usual print run is only 60,000. This week global sales alone could surpass 300,000, dwarfing the usual international sales number of about 4,000 copies.

But the most anticipated magazine cover or not, The Free Press is not providing its readers with a look at the controversial cover. The local paper is not alone. Canadian media in general, at least the dominant media in English-speaking Canada, have decided not to republish any of the satirical cartoons which made worldwide news after many of those connected to the publications were gunned down in their Paris office.

The Globe and Mail defended their decision not to publish the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. David Walmsley, The Globe and Mail’s editor-in-chief, explained: "One doesn’t need to show a cartoon to show the story. The story is the killings, not any cartoon."

The story is not the cartoons? What balderdash. Those cartoons are at the core of story. No cartoons; no slaughter; no story. To read the full explanation, click the following link. If you do, please also take a moment to read some of the comments of Globe readers.:

• Public editor: Why The Globe didn’t publish the Charlie Hebdo cartoons
• Comments

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

The journalist at Charlie Hebdo were killed because of the cartoons they published. To say that these cartoons are not an important part of this story is ridiculous. Without them there is no specific context for the crime. Walmsley's explanation is pure rationalization.

From my quick reading of the comments, it seems most readers of The Globe were not swayed. And so a few days later, The Globe ran another piece addressing its decision not to publish any of the cartoons. This article carried the headline We honour Charlie Hebdo, but we don’t want to be it. This attempt at placating readers angered by the decision also failed. Find the comments here: Comments.

Have I seen any of the cartoons? Yes. I subscribe to a daily feed from the Harvard Gazette. Following a links, I viewed a smattering of the cartoons. And I read articles defending Charlie Hebdo. Ayaan Hirsi Ali,  a Fellow with The Future of Diplomacy Project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, wrote:

We do need to wake up to the fact that there is a movement — a very lethal movement, very cruel — that has a political vision about how the world should be organized and how society should live. And in order for them to realize their vision, they are willing to use any means. They are willing to use violence. They are willing to use terror.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali continued, saying:

The ball is now in the court of the media. If the press responds to this by not reprinting the cartoons, by not defending the principle that Charlie Hebdo was defending, then we have given in. Then they have won [this round].

I added this round. Why? Because if you think that this dispute is just about cartoons, you are mistaken. The cartoons are simply one round in a far larger fight. The cartoons are the focus this time. But, take away the cartoons and you still have a fight on your hands. Terrorist murderers do not disappear because a cartoon is not published. They simply turn their attention elsewhere.

This cartoon by Cabu depicts and quotes the racist demagogue
politician Jean-Marie Le Pen of the Front National party (with
the eye patch). The caption reads: "We want to be able to go
out in the evening without being afraid." The armed thugs in the
background are racist skinheads and their ilk. The cartoon
leaves little doubt as to who is afraid.

I heard a self-described left-of-centre NDP supporter expressing his anger at the publication of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. He had strong opinions on this matter even though, I don't believe, he had actually seen any of them. And no wonder. His sources for news are not publishing any of the Jean Cabut cartoons. I believe that's really too bad.

Althought the man compared the Cabu cartoons to the Nazi propaganda released during the Hitler era, don't make the mistake of thinking that he was a supporter of religion. He wasn't. He made it very clear that he despised religion. All religion. He saw religion at the root of much that is wrong with the world.

When I read the supportive phrase, "Je suis Charlie", I think of another meaning. Charlie Hebdo stirs up angry, murderous emotions in certain extreme, and I believe misguided, Muslims. But it is not just Charlie Hebdo stirring this emotional pot. I believe the oh-so-acceptable secular approach to religious faith, an approach that treats faith as foolishness, as something to be mocked and ridiculed, is also fueling the terrorist fires now burning in the West.

Those who openly distrust of religion, are intolerant of religious thought, and who might be characterized by believers as haters of religion, these people are also part of the problem. I've seen it claimed that this background noise in our secular world, this background noise that mocks religious belief is one of the  forces driving some Muslims into the marginalized camp. Maybe these people, full of distrust for all religion, can also lay claim to the phrase "Je suis Charlie." Although, used here it has another meaning: "If Charlie was wrong, if Charlie stirred up anger, then to the extent that I also have stirred up anger means that to that extent I am also Charlie."

To understand my point, read The New York Times piece, From Teenage Angst to Jihad, The Anger of Europe’s Young Marginalized Muslims.

Author Abdelkader Benali tells readers of The Times that at 13 years old he was a healthy, young Dutch boy with a Moroccan background until something happened that made him realize he was different from his non-Muslim classmates. Benali writes:

One day in history class, the fatwa against Salman Rushdie became the subject. Our teacher talked about freedom of expression; I talked about insulting the Prophet.

It took Benali years to work through the moral dilemma in which he found himself that day. And he found it is much harder to find a satisfactory answer while living in a secular society that had stopped struggling with big religious questions.

Benali tells readers, "In the end, I didn’t find the answers in holy texts. I found them in literature." He found his answer in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, in Albert Camus' The Plague and in the book that originally triggered his emotional turmoil, Salmon Rushdie's The Satanic Verses: a book about "a young man struggling with his faith in a faithless world."

Maybe, just maybe, the cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo will do for others what The Satanic Verses did for Benali. Check out this link to the latest Charlie Hebdo cover showing the Prophet Muhammad holding a "Je Suis Charlie" sign with the caption, "All is forgiven."

There are a lot of criticisms that can be aimed at the French weekly, insensitive comes readily to mind, but spreading hatred of Muslims is not among them.

Huffington Post: I Am Charlie.

Kids are simply natives; drop the modifier "digital"

There are those who claim children today are "digital natives." I'm not one of them.

Isla can make the dog in her book tilt its head. She simply pulls the large tab with the blue pointer. The tab is connected to a hinged head. But Isla can't change the image on the back of my camera. She insists on pushing the image off the screen as if my camera were an iPhone. It isn't. Isla is frustrated.

Isla is bright and someday she will work a computer much as I "work" a car. But just as I am not a mechanic, despite being raised with automobiles, Isla may never be a digital native despite being raised with computers.

When Isla's older sister, Fiona, brushed her hand casually over the keyboard of my laptop, the wireless Internet stopped working. The so-called digital natives in my world couldn't get my portable back online. I'm closing in on 70 but I found the answer. The antenna icon, looks a bit like the letter A with energy radiating from the tip, controls the wireless connection. Touch the icon and it turns off, touch it again and it turns on. It is a toggle that lights when in the on position and goes dark when the in the off position. Fiona toggled it off.

Every time I read in the paper how young people are so comfortable with computers while seniors are inept, I want to scream. I've been playing with computers for some three decades. I'm not a whiz but I am not frightened by computers either. When I had a sailboat in the '80s, I wrote a program to assist in charting my boat's position on the lake. I had a little, portable Radio Shack computer that performed the task very admirably.

If you, too, believe the computer skills of the young are highly overrated, please read: Kids can't use computers... and this is why it should worry you.

This is not to belittle children in anyway. Little kids are amazing. At about 14 months Isla could remove a screw top from a bottle. According to her other grandfather, today Isla can remove the childproof lids from his medicine bottles. She is definitely bottle-top native. With computers, which are bit more complex, she doesn't show anywhere near the aptitude.

A colourful twist on an old recipe

Cauliflower soup with carrot added for colour.

 Awhile ago I did a post on a homemade cauliflower soup. Here's the link:  Homemade soup easy to make and nutritious. With a bought-on-sale cauliflower growing old in the fridge, my wife encouraged me to make my cauliflower soup. My wife even went so far as to chop the cauliflower into small pieces.

So, today I knocked off a big pot of a very elegant soup which in a fine restaurant would be an oh-so-suitable first course. Because all the cauliflower had to be used, I used all 22 ounces. For colour, I added one large chopped carrot. For flavour, I tossed in two celery stocks and three small onions, both diced.

After stir frying the vegetables in a little olive oil for about ten minutes, I added a 900ml box of vegetable broth, twelve ounces of 1% milk, a couple of bay leaves and a sprig of thyme. I simmered this for about twenty minutes until the cauliflower was done.

Before pouring the soup into a food processor, I removed the bay leaves and thyme sprig and added a couple of ounces of potato flakes as a thickener. After blending the chunky mixture to a smooth, thick consistency, I returned the soup to the cook pot and reheated it until it reached serving temperature.

Unlike the original soup, this one has a light orange colour and a hint of sweetness, all thanks to the addition of a carrot.

There is no reason for people to eat poorly. A large bowl of this filling and very healthy soup was about 60-cents. Both the head of cauliflower and the box of vegetable broth were under a dollar. Both were picked up on sale. If one works one's diet around ingredients that are available on sale, one can keep the price of meals surprisingly low.

Life doesn't get any better than this

I'm a grandfather. I'm retired. I'm ill. My heart is slowly converting from muscle to a mix of fat and scar tissue. I have a somewhat rare genetic disease of the heart. But most of all, I'm joyful. And for that I can thank my three granddaughters.

Little Isla is not twenty-months-old but she has a well-laid out life. She has stuff she like to do and she lays out her day to accommodate all these interests. Painting is one of her must-do activities. She will call out, "Gugga! Paint!"

When I appear she takes my hand and leads me to the door to the basement. "Downstairs," she both announces and orders. I open the door, turn on the lights and Isla takes my hand seeking help to get down the stairs safely.

She picks out her brushes carefully and trembles with excitement when the little pots of paint appear. She dips her brush in some purple paint and begins making big swirls of wet colour. Life doesn't get any better than this, at least not for Isla. She loves painting with Gugga and she also loves Gugga.

And, for me, life doesn't get any better than this. There is not a thing I would change.

No surprise here: Toddlers have amazing language skills

Is my youngest granddaughter advanced, as some in my family like to think? When I heard this claim made yet again the other day, I decided to do some research. My own gut-feeling was that the kid cruises along at the high end of the curve but it would be wise to refrain from informing the university of our budding genius.

I came by my gut-feelings thanks to watching two other children go from being babies, to toddlers to little girls. These children are the littlest one's sister and cousin. I was convinced the two girls were advanced. They weren't. They were bright. But that's it. Bright, by the way, is very comforting. It puts a lot of worries to rest.

So, what can the average 18-month-old do? A lot more than one might expect. I gleaned the following from PBS Parents and confirmed the numbers with further research.

• At 18 months, kids understand 200 or more words and use 68 words. (Keep in mind that a well-trained dog may understand something in the order of 200 words.)
• Between 16 and 23 months, children typically enjoy a spurt during which they acquire one or two words per day. By 23 months the average child can say about 200 words.
• At about 18 months, the average kid begins combining words to form phrases and even sentences.

Children understand a lot more than most of us realize. Choose your words carefully around little ones. They are listening and understanding. At least, this is true when it comes to their native language. Sometime after 6 months of age the ability to discriminate individual sounds in other languages takes a downward turn. The loss of this sensitivity is gradual but steady and with the passing of time a lot of this language ability is lost.

A senior I know says he has no ability to learn a new language. None. He worked in government for years, took French courses as a Canadian government employee and yet can't order dinner in a Quebec diner.

Both the old geezer and the young toddler are actually just average. The old fellow may be at the lower end of the curve while my granddaughter may be nearer the top but neither is remarkable.

When I watch folk pushing children like my granddaughter, filling these children's heads with stories of their great abilities, I am reminded of the last two lines of the W.H. Auden poem The Average.

"He saw the shadow of an Average Man
Attempting the exceptional, and ran."

For me, there is no shame in being average. For one thing, I believe most of us are exceptional at certain things. Being exceptional, but only in limited areas, is also average. One must learn to appreciate and celebrate one's talents.

I like the way the Leadership Freak put it: "Believing exceptional is about everything and not one thing places exceptional out of reach. The impossibility of being exceptional at everything paralyzes legitimate passion for one thing." I believe it was this that foiled Auden's Mr. Average.

My senior friend should accept the reality that learning a new language is difficult for old geezers. His problems should come as no surprise. If he accepted this truth, maybe, just maybe, he could learn to speak French on the level of a two year old, order poutine in a Quebec restaurant and have French language comprehension skills on par with the family dog.

Being retired does not mean eating pet food

Dinner didn't cost $2 a serving and that's after going back for more.

Awhile back a reporter at The London Free Press wrote an editorial warning seniors that they may have to eat pet food in their retirement. It was a silly statement and I said so. The reporter was miffed and said so.

Tonight I cooked dinner. I was proud of my creation and it didn't cost more than a couple of dollars per serving. The green beans were the most expensive ingredient at one dollar per serving. (I found them selling at a reduced price at Ungers Market in Hyde Park.) The pasta wasn't even a dime as it was bought on sale for 79-cents for a 900 gram package at a discount grocery store like Food Basics. The sun dried tomatoes came from Costco. Need I say more. The cherry tomatoes added colour but not much cost. The walnuts came from the Bulk Barn and made an inexpensive addition. (The recipe follows the post.)

The best part of the dinner was that it kept to the Mediterranean cuisine rules. One of my doctors, a heart and stroke specialist, instructed me to try and keep to a Mediterranean diet. Lots of vegetables and meat only every other day and not red meat. Red meat is a once a month treat.

Oh, and there is one surprising fact that I haven't mentioned. Making this dinner didn't require a stove. Our gas range is on the fritz. I made the entire dinner using two microwaves and a kettle. The pasta was al dente and the green beans still had a little crunch.

Recipe 

Serves two
180 grams medium shell pasta
250 grams green beans chopped into one inch lengths
30 grams sun-dried tomato pesto
45 grams oven-dried freeze dried organic roma tomatoes from Costco. This has basil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano and red pepper added. It is inexpensive and a nice addition to this recipe.
1 medium tomato diced or a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced into halves and thirds.
30 grams of old chedder cheese diced into quarter-inch cubes.
30 grams of walnuts

I made this without a gas range. The stove had conked out. I was forced to use two microwave ovens.

• Microwave the medium shell past for ten minutes after placing dry pasta in hot water preheated in a kettle. (Check during cooking.  Take care not to overcook.)
• Microwave green beans for 3 min. on high. (Again: Take care not to overcook.)
• Microwave the combined tomato/pesto/walnut mix for 2 min. on high. (It should be hot.)
• When the pasta is done, drain the water and add green beans and tomato/pesto/walnut mix. Stir.
• When ready to serve, stir in the diced old cheddar cheese. It should melt when added to the hot pasta/pesto/tomato/walnut mix.
• Serve

During assembly it was noted that this meal had a dry weight of almost 10 ounces. After cooking, the pasta had swelled with retained water. I don't know what the weight of each serving was when served but this dinner was definitely filling.

Addendum:

I made this for guests the other night. This time our gas range was working. I made 360 grams of pasta for four of us using the traditional boiling water method. While the pasta was cooking, I quickly roasted the walnuts lightly in hot olive oil in a large wok. While roasting the walnuts I partially cooked the green beans in a handy microwave oven. When the walnuts were about half done, I added the cherry tomatoes and continued to heat the mixture. I added the green beans, the pesto/tomato, and cheese and mixed some more. At this point, the pasta was done. I added the pasta and tossed all. It was great.

Encourage originality

One of the best drawings of a cat I have ever seen. Simpy love it!

Colouring books are good. They train kids to stay within the lines. And colouring books are bad. Maybe downright evil. They train kids to stay within the lines.

For me, a lot of life has been lived outside the lines. It's a lot more fun out there. Art is the same way. Break free of the stereotypes, smash the molds. Learn to rock the world a little.

The unique art of Louis Wain.

When my granddaughters are art mode, I encourage originality. For instance, I love the drawing of a cat at the top of this post. It was done by my one granddaughter now five. This cat doesn't just purr; It rocks!

If, by any chance, you are familiar with the work of Louis Wain and the stories detailing his descend into mental chaos and linking this to a growing abstraction in his cat drawings, read the post on Mind Hacks. An interesting alternative take on Wain's work. That is a Wain cat on the right.

In my personal experience, I have never found artists to be any more "mad" than other folk. I believe most of us have a screw loose here and there.

Don't believe The London Free Press; Get a flu shot.

It is interesting to note the headline was changed on the online story.

 A lot of people do not get a flu shot. They don't believe in them. They argue: Flu shots can't be trusted; Flu shots don't always confer protection. And now my local paper, The London Free Press, has given these people more ammunition in their fight against the annual flu shot. The paper calls the vaccine used in Ontario "the dregs."

Well, in my humble opinion, when it comes to health stories, it is the local paper that cannot be trusted. The stories are factually correct but the spin often seems misleading, at least to me.

According to the newspaper, Ontario seniors are getting the dregs when it comes to flu shots. The paper reports a super flu shot for seniors is widely available in the States and it is a "game changer." The quote comes from a spokesperson for Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine manufacturer. The quote overstates the value of the new vaccine. It's good, it's an improvement, but it is not a "game changer."

Other medical experts, not employed by Sanofi Pasteur, have called the new flu shot a mild improvement. Why is a 25% improvement, as reported by the paper, not causing more excitement? The numbers. The New York Times reported it this way, "The key finding was that 1.4 percent of the first group [the group given the improved vaccine] contracted the flu versus 1.9 percent of the second group [given the older formulation.]" The spread between the two vaccines was about one half of one percent. In this case, this translates into a 25% improvement. And in this case, such an improvement is not a "game changer."

Consumer Reports warned its readers not to be in a "rush to get the high-dose vaccine." The vaccine, called Fluzone High-Dose, is only "slightly more likely than the standard vaccine to prevent the flu in people 65 and up." CR is in agreement with The Times about the value of the new flu shot for seniors.

CR goes on to report that the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns the high-dose vaccine might be more likely to cause side effects, including headache, muscle aches, and fever. The Consumer Reports medical experts believe older people should weigh the possible risks and benefits of the new vaccine before getting inoculated.

When it comes to the new 'quadrivalent' flu shot, Consumer Reports told its readers to consider it. The magazine went on to warn readers that "unlike the standard vaccine, not all insurers cover it, so you might have to pay out of pocket, about $38." In Ontario the flu shot is covered by OHIP. In the States there are uninsured Americans who cannot afford either the improved flu vaccine or the older, less expensive trivalent flu shot.

Back in the day that I worked at the newspaper, The Free Press arranged for flu shots for all staff. They had a nurse spend the day in the building. Everyone was encouraged to get vaccinated. No one bad-mouthed the flu shot.

A time for sharing memories.

When I heard this rendition Sleigh Ride by the Christian pop punk band (what a mix!) Relient K, it brought tears to my eyes. The you I pictured were plural; I pictured my granddaughters. I promised myself that I would find a sleigh ride offered somewhere in the London, Ontario, area. I'll take them all for a memory-making ride, if possible.

From the 2007 holiday album Let It Snow, Baby . . . Let It Reindeer. Be patient, it gets into a lovely groove a little ways into the recording. And the video is far more upbeat than the featured art would have you believe.


Relient K "Sleigh Ride" from Gotee Records on Vimeo.


If you liked that, you might like Run Run Rudolph. An old Chuck Berry hit from the late '50s it was covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd on the group's Christmas Time Again album. It has a gentle intro but it quickly hits full stride.

Whenever I hear a Chuck Berry song, I think back to the 99-cent rock and roll nights at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, in the '60s. My friends and I caught a live performance of Chuck at one of those alcohol-fueled events. He was fantastic - I think.



My personal favourite when it comes to Christmas albums is Phil Spector's  A Christmas Gift for You. Produced and arranged by Spector, the album features Dalene Love, the Ronettes, the Crystals and Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans. Spector himself makes an appearance on Silent Night.

The version of Sleigh Ride on this album has become a classic and for that  reason I'm ending this post with a link to that recording. It is a remastered version. Note: In 2003, this Christmas album was ranked No. 142 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Seniors shouldn't eat dog food; It's too expensive.

Some time ago a reporter at the local paper ran an editorial warning Canadians to be worried about their lives in retirement. According to this reporter, many Canadians face the prospect of eating pet food in their senior years. I wrote this was silly. The reporter got in touch with me and defended herself by saying writing editorials wasn't her job. She simply cranked out her piece at the demand of those above her.

Still, the piece was silly. Last night as I ate my dinner I considered how much I had spent on food that day. I don't believe I spent more than $3. I bought all on sale and all was purchased with food value and taste in mind. The soup pictured cost about $2 a serving and was thick with added broccoli and carrots. The vegetables were leftovers. I'd have added a little extra cheese but my wife didn't want the added calories. We could have added some leftover chicken but yesterday was a meatless day for me: doctor's orders.

The bread with the meal was two-day-old baguette and the topping was sun-dried tomatoes with grated Parmesan cheese -- both leftovers sitting almost forgotten in our fridge. The meal was filling, nutritious and delicious. Breakfast and lunch were also put together from food items bought on sale.

If I had written the editorial telling folk how to prepare for retirement, I'd have told them do not eat junk. Junk food is expensive. Don't get a taste for the stuff. It's neither good for you nor easy on your food budget. Build your daily food menu around stuff on sale at your local grocery stores and do the food preparation yourself. You will eat well and on a fraction of what most folk believe you must spend.

Bon appétit!

p.s. After writing this I bought some instant oatmeal cereal on sale: 19-cents a serving.  I can have my cereal, a banana mashed into the cereal to add  extra sweetness and food value, and I can make this with milk and cool it with a little more, all for less than a dollar a day. At this price I will never have dog food for breakfast.

Newspaper falling through the cracks

Contrary to the newspaper report, it is American seniors and not Canadian ones most at risk overall.

The headline warned readers that Canadian seniors were falling between the health care cracks. Clearly this can be quite nasty. Falling through cracks is bad enough but smashing against the material between the cracks is surely even worse.

Overall, American seniors fare worse than Canadian ones.

Also falling through the cracks with the publication of The London Free Press article was journalistic neutrality. The survey at the core of the story was published by the American Commonwealth Fund. The survey found, quote: "Compared with their counterparts in 10 other industrialized countries, older adults in the U.S. are sicker and more likely to have problems paying their medical bills and getting needed health care." American seniors, not Canadian ones, are in the most trouble when it comes to health care issues.

This is not to say that the newspaper article did not report the facts. It did. But those facts were carefully picked to fit the aims of the story. This put an all too familiar spin to this story. This has been done in the past with Commonwealth Fund reports. In the past, I have contacted the fund and had it confirmed at the source that the newspaper was spinning the work of the fund and not simply reporting it.

Key Findings from the Commonwealth Fund study:

1. The United States stands out for having the highest rates of chronic health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease: 87 percent of older adults in the U.S. reported at least one chronic illness,and 68 percent reported two or more.
2. Despite having Medicare coverage, U.S. adults age 65 or older were the most likely to report that cost posed a barrier to care. One-fifth (19%) said cost was the reason they did not visit a doctor, skipped a medical test or treatment recommended by a doctor, did not fill a prescription, or skipped doses.
3. U.S. survey respondents were also the most likely to report trouble paying their medical bills (11%). Only 1 percent in Norway and Sweden reported the same.
4. Canadian, Swedish, Norwegian, and U.S. respondents were the least likely to be able to get a same- or next-day doctor’s appointment when sick or to find it somewhat or very easy to get after-hours care without using the emergency department.
5. Older adults in all countries face care coordination and safety problems. In the U.S., 35 percent reported at least one problem with care coordination, such as not having a recommended medical test, receiving conflicting information from different doctors, or experiencing a lack of communication between a primary care doctor and a specialist. In every country but France, one-fifth or more of older adults have experienced at least one of these problems.
6. Along with the U.K., the U.S. did well in areas related to managing chronic illness: 58 percent of chronically ill older adults in the U.S. and 59 percent in the U.K. had discussed their treatment goals with their doctor and had clear instructions about when to seek further care. Fewer than half of chronically ill people in the other nine countries said the same.
7. More than three-quarters (78%) of older adults in the U.S. said they reported talking to a family member, friend, or health professional about their care preferences if they become unable to make decisions for themselves. Two-thirds said they had a written plan naming a health care proxy and more than half (55%) said they had a written plan regarding the treatment they want at the end of life.

Note: Canada is only mentioned directly in key finding number four. In a press release, The Commonwealth Fund states "all of the countries in the survey could do better." Why did The Free Press single out the Canadian health care system? Was this a right-wing attack by a Sun Media newspaper?

Also note, the newspaper illustrated the article with a clip art. This image does not show a patient in a London hospital, nor does it show a Canadian nurse. Photojournalism has fallen through the cracks, too.

The dark side of strawberries

Each spring I take my granddaughters strawberry picking. Strawberries are, or at least used to be, a spring treat. But no more. Today strawberries are available year 'round. Most come from California.

A few years ago my wife and I motored through the strawberry fields of coastal California. They were immense. As we drove along I wondered about the downside to this vast monoculture of fruit. Today I came across an article answering a part of this question: California's strawberry industry is hooked on dangerous pesticides.

I believe this story may go a little heavy on the element of fear but at the article's core it is true. Dangerous chemicals are being used and not just in agriculture in California. In this case, the use is good for the strawberry growers but may not be good for the field workers, the people in nearby communities and even the world at large.

I have a friend who likes to start dinner with a prayer for those children going without enough food. Possibly he should also being praying for those children who have enough food but food that comes at a very high, but hidden, price. These children, or their descendants, may well find that they must pay the hidden costs as the payments can no longer be deferred.

Think Peru and the fields used to grow asparagus for year 'round consumption. When the ground water is exhausted, when the fields are again dry, dusty, desert land, how will the children of the region survive? Big agriculture will simply move on but the people, the people with deep historical roots in the area, will remain.

How Peru's wells are being sucked dry by British love of asparagus
Industrial-scale production risks water tragedy, charity warns