Poetry Corner: “The eternal sandbox”

The eternal sandbox

Young and innocent
time consuming frivolity
equality of youth
shattered
the dinky toyed hours

pens and suits
boots and hands
a mild game struggle
children vs. children
life kept on that harmless level
fun and simple
lost and baffled in gaming politeness
forgetting who the real enemies are

Robert K. Stephen

Poetry Corner: All we get are the coffee grinds

All we get are the coffee grinds

the mighty converge in golden dimensions
lapping on champagne and spooning caviar
forging a new world for the benefit of all

charades for fools and the scribbling bloodsuckers
fantasizing
vomiting streams of foulness
to be lapped up by deceived optimists

applauded from the blackrobed rotunda
let it be known he died not in vain
but let it wait if it must
there is a better world beyond
no rush here
chapter and verse are cheap
let no new sheppards arise
lest they upset the flock
or the Index

Rules of Production
need not be disturbed
Red or White
you know it never changes
raise rise peak
no room for the weak
Hail statistical efficiency
new breakthroughs
new hopes
a new world
a new man
self glorification at such a cheap price
the infinite birthday party drags
with infinite toasts to the
snappy suited apostles of shit

Robert K. Stephen


Virus # 26: Chapter 41 “no money left folks”

Chapter 41: “no money left folks”

As Virus # 26 rolled into countries in the First World they had little money or gold left in their treasuries after spending cast sums on propping up the social and economic system ravaged by the COVIDs. Most of it was spent to avoid a collapse of the social order and of the financial system during the COVIDs. What was left was used to keep a declining infrastructure operational. Roads, water, sanitation, police, transportation, hospitals, schools and the shaky food supply system.

The most damaging First World Virus # 26 implications was the inability to bring about any sort of effective social distancing or finance a propaganda system or keep the unemployed funded. Businesses were still running but as so many had no jobs to go to there was no money to support them or businesses for that matter.

With no social assistance to the unemployed desperation increased and so did crime and political extremism. However due to its deadly nature the virus reduced the number of people requiring subsidization. Its high kill rate reduced the burden on the state as there were many less people to support and provide social assistance to. There were the survivors and there were the dead and some that were trying not to be dead by ingesting the magic bullet cannabis.

What money there was still good but many of the wealthy throughout the world had made large purchases of gold bullion and coins should matters deteriorate.

Hospitals still operated and were crammed with the dying. Once you were infected there was a 99% chance you would be dead within 72 hours so most simply died in their homes realizing the hospital could do little for them but dope them up so they passed as peacefully as possible.

By 2031 a year 86% of Canada’s population was dead so the need for governmental support seemed far less needed the with the COVIDs. This high death rate in Canada was more or less the norm where cannabis was legalized but higher where it was not legal such as the majority of U.S. states.

Poetry Corner : Prostitutes of a kind”

Prostitutes of a kind

beautiful people
bought and sold on the auction block
cash by the hour
clean whoring
begging for the big break
the sirloin cut of life
but another photograph away
but
for now
snapping, clicking and whirring
anemic furiousity
all for the new fall line
fabricating
the New Lifestyle
for all to enjoy to suffer

Robert K. Stephen

Ontario’s Six Point Plan to Fight COVID: International Visitors to Canada Coming through Ontario are not really welcome: Are Canadians “international travellers?”

NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Takes Immediate Action to Stop the Spread of COVID-19 Variants

New six-point plan includes mandatory on-arrival testing for international travellers

January 29, 2021

Office of the Premier

Table of Contents

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TORONTO — The Ontario government is taking immediate and decisive action to stop the spread of new COVID-19 variants throughout the province. It is implementing a six-point plan which includes mandatory on-arrival testing of international travellers, enhanced screening and sequencing to identify the new variants, maintaining public health measures to keep people safe, strengthening case and contact management to track the spread of new cases, enhanced protections for vulnerable populations, and leveraging the latest data to inform public health decisions.

Details of the plan were provided today by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, and Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health.

“We welcome the new measures announced by the federal government today, but we need a stop gap to prevent new cases, including variant cases, from arriving in Ontario until those measures are fully in place,” said Premier Ford. “That’s why our government is taking immediate and decisive action, which includes mandatory testing of incoming international travellers and providing additional layers of protection for the people of Ontario, especially our seniors. Through our six-point plan, we intend to stop this virus in its tracks.”

Ontario’s first COVID-19 UK variant case was confirmed last month and was due to international travel. Since that time, 51 cases of the variant have been confirmed in the province.  Evidence shows that the UK variant could be up to 56 per cent more transmissible. Recent evidence shows Ontarians’ efforts to contain COVID-19 are working, with provincial trends in most key public health indicators trending down. However, recent modelling suggests that the UK variant and other new variants remain a significant threat to controlling the pandemic and could become the dominant strain of the virus in the province by March 2021, posing an increased threat to public health and hospital capacity.

“People across the province are staying home and helping to limit the spread of this deadly virus, and their actions are starting to make a difference,” said Minister Elliott. “However, the UK variant is now making its way into our communities and putting Ontario’s pandemic response at risk. In addition to maintaining the public health measures we know work and keep us safe, our government is taking decisive action to control the spread, protect our health care system, and save lives.”

Ontario’s six-point variant action plan enhances the existing coordinated and ongoing efforts of the province to detect, track, trace, and contain the spread of COVID-19. The plan includes:

Mandatory Testing of Travelers:To address the risks associated with variants of concern to the health of Ontarians, the Chief Medical Officer of Health is issuing a Section 22 order under Section 77.1 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, mandating on-arrival testing for international travellers at Toronto Pearson International Airport effective at 12:01 p.m. on February 1, 2021 and  exploring additional testing measures at Pearson International Airport and land border crossings in the coming weeks.

Enhanced Screening and Sequencing: Led by Public Health Ontario, the provincial diagnostic lab network is ramping up capacity to screen all positive COVID-19 tests in Ontario for known variants within two to three days of initial processing. This new measure will take effect as of February 3, 2021. Public Health Ontario (PHO) will also undertake and coordinate genomic sequencing efforts to identify new and emerging variants by sequencing up to 10 per cent of all positive tests by February 17, 2021.

Maintain Public Health Measures: Given the emerging evidence that the variants of concern are more transmissible and may cause more severe disease in some individuals, lifting of public health and workplace safety measures will not be considered at this time until more information on variant spread is known and overall trends in public health indicators improve. The declared provincial emergency and stay-at-home order were recently extended until February 9, 2021.  

Strengthen Case and Contact Management: The provincial workforce will continue supporting public health units to ensure cases and contacts are reached as soon as possible and monitored through their quarantine period. All asymptomatic contacts will be asked to repeat testing on or after day 10 of their quarantine, and the entire household of all contacts and symptomatic individuals will be asked to stay home until the contact has a negative test.

Enhancing Protections for Vulnerable Populations: Dependent on supply from the federal government, the province will continue with the accelerated vaccination of residents in long-term care, high-risk retirement and First Nations elder care homes. The province is also introducing a provincial antigen screening program for the expansion of rapid testing in high priority settings, such as long-term care homes, retirement homes, essential workplaces, schools and congregate living settings.

Leveraging Data: The province will work with a made-in-Ontario technology company DNAstack to immediately establish a genomics databank and real-time analytics dashboard to empower the province’s public health officials and improve the government’s planning related to pandemic response. This will enhance the province’s capacity to identify known and emerging variants of COVID-19.

“Urgent action is required to protect Ontarians from the new COVID-19 variants. That is why our government is implementing a six-point plan which includes mandatory on-arrival testing of international travellers starting next week,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “We continue to urgently call on the federal government to impose a temporary travel ban on flights coming from countries where new COVID-19 variants are being detected.” 

Ontario continues to monitor the developing situation with the Public Health Agency of Canada and other jurisdictions to ensure coordinated, effective and shared efforts to protect and safeguard the public. It remains critically important that all Ontarians continue following the stay-at-home order and public health advice and measures to protect our communities and most vulnerable populations, and to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“Maxima”: What a David and Goliath Story: Human Rights Watch Film Festival Canada

I could easily summarize this documentary as “David vs Goliath”. However as a highly paid internet writer my audience expects more but certainly less than the 7 pages of notes I wrote on the film.

I’ll keep it simple.

Maxima Acuña and her family live in a remote part of the Peruvian highlands living off their land in a traditional and backbreaking way. Unfortunately, the second largest goldmine in the world, American owned, wants to expand as its strip mining operations are running out of gold. One problem they need Maxima’s land and the lakes in the area are filled with gold they want which would destroy the lake and cause water supply issues to the local town and farmers.

Maxima does not want to surrender her land. The mine owners and their security forces launch a vicious harassment programme destroying her crops and property and physically assaulting Maxima and her family and laying all sorts of legal charges along the line of abusive harassment. The mine owners have the audacity to block off public roads and ask for ID trying to prevent journalists from visiting Maxima. The abuse is quite frankly obscene, offensive, greedy, dangerous and attempts to humiliate and wear down Maxima. Political corruption scandals are disclosed.

However the owners of the mine and Peruvian politicians and judiciary appear surprised that this Peruvian peasant has garnered an international movement of human right activists. She travels to the United States to seek justice and explanations from the WORLD Bank which is a part owner of the mine and whose role is to alleviate poverty and maintain water quality throughout the world but their response was go away as we trust the owners of the mine are doing the right thing. This is despite the fact of mercury spills, discharge of contaminated water laden with heavy metals and remarkably high cancer rates amongst the miners and local population.

This is an expose of “The Ugly American” in horrific and nasty proportions. Maxima struggles on in the court system. But watch this documentary and you will be sickened by the acts of an American megacorp but you may be inspired by Maxima fighting a monstrous force with her courage and persistence to save her way of life and the land she and her family live on.

You can watch this film for free but must reserve tickets through HOT DOCS TED ROGERS Cinema website. The Festival runs from February 18-22.You can learn about the films in the Festival by checking out their website https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/01/14/18th-annual-toronto-human-rights-watch-film-festival#:~:text=The%2018th%20annual%20Toronto%20Human%20Rights%20Watch%20Film,that%20will%20be%20completely%20digital%20for%20the%20.

 You can see the trailer here https://www.dropbox.com/s/izawxe48m0m0bni/MAXIMA%20TRAILER%20%28720p%20with%2023fps%29.mp4?dl=0

Province of Ontario Announces Results of Big Box Store COVID Blitz: Draw Your Own Conclusions!

NEWS RELEASE

Over 1,000 Stores Visited during Ontario’s COVID-19 Inspection Blitz

Campaign designed to ensure businesses are properly protecting staff and customers

January 29, 2021

Labour, Training and Skills Development

Table of Contents

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  2. Quick Facts
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  4. Related Topics

TORONTO — Ontario’s provincial offences officers have visited 1,147 big-box stores and other essential retail businesses so far this month and will be visiting more than 400 additional stores this weekend in Toronto, Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo. The inspections are designed to ensure businesses are following the public health guidelines and properly protecting workers and customers from COVID-19. So far this year, 112 tickets have been issued to businesses and individuals during three inspection campaigns.

“We’ve marshalled hundreds of officers to inspect over 1,000 businesses in a few short weeks, and we’ll keep it up as long as there are bad actors out there,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “Our government is confident that the majority of workplaces are taking all necessary steps to protect their customers and workers from the spread of COVID-19. However, if we find businesses putting people at risk, we will take immediate action. This late in the pandemic, there is absolutely no excuse for owners, staff and customers alike not to be following health and safety rules.” 

The most common reasons cited for non-compliance were failure to properly screen staff and patrons, improper social distancing and workplaces not having adequate COVID-19 workplace safety plans. All businesses operating during lockdown must have a COVID-19 workplace safety plan that is available to anyone who asks to see it and is posted in a place where it can be easily seen. The plan is meant to put in place controls that help make the workplace safer for everyone and does not replace the Occupational Health and Safety Act or the Employment Standards Act.

The upcoming weekend blitzes in Toronto, Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo will be followed by additional inspection campaigns in Halton and Huron Perth next week. Provincial offences officers, as well as local public health inspectors and municipal bylaw officers, are conducting inspections of big-box stores and a variety of other workplaces such as retail establishments, restaurants providing take-out meals and essential service-sector establishments such as gas stations. These inspection campaigns were developed in consultation with local public health units.

Similar inspections took place last weekend in Ottawa, Windsor, Niagara and Durham Regions, during which a total of 107 provincial offences officers from across the Ontario government conducted nearly 700 workplace visits. They found 41 per cent of businesses had at least one issue of non-compliance and 98 tickets were issued.