• Aboriginals in North America
  • Beast Literature
  • Canadiana.1
  • Dances & Music
  • Fables and Fairy Tales
  • Fables by Jean de La Fontaine
  • Feasts & Liturgy
  • Great Books Online
  • La Princesse de Clèves
  • Middle East
  • Molière
  • Nominations
  • Posts on Love Celebrated
  • Posts on the United States
  • The French Revolution & Napoleon Bonaparte
  • Voyageurs Posts
  • Canadiana.2

Micheline's Blog

~ Art, music, books, history & current events

Micheline's Blog

Category Archives: Covid-19

The Human Condition in the Days of Covid-19

22 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Covid-19, Epidemic, Fables

≈ Comments Off on The Human Condition in the Days of Covid-19

Tags

Covid-19, Deux Rats le Renard et l'Oeuf, J.-J. Grandville, La Fontaine

Illustration de J.-J. Grandville (1803-1847)
fable Jean de La Fontaine : Les deux rats, le renard et l’oeuf (la-fontaine-ch-thierry.net)
End Book IX : Address to Madame de La Sablière ; The two rats, fox and egg (la-fontaine-ch-thierry.net)

Once again, I am writing mostly unprepared, but happy to have been vaccinated the day after I dialled the correct telephone number. The better approach is to make an appointment online. Telephone lines are busy. In other words, I was lucky.

I have not fully recovered. On Saturday, I ran a low grade fever, and I felt a little dizzy and exhausted. On Sunday, I was tired. I remain tired and my lungs hurt. However, being infected with Covid-19 is a greater evil than the side effects of the vaccine.

AstraZeneca was used. I was told that the source was safe. A poor source may have slowed down the Vaccination Campaign in some European countries, but it is not too late.

If one reads The Hare and Tortoise, Le Lièvre et la Tortue (VI, 10), one may think that the “cautious” countries wasted precious time. But there is a little godliness in human beings. La Fontaine wanted to illustrate that animals had a soul, not a human soul, but a soul. His two rats find a way of carrying their egg to safety. Animals have all the wit they need to stay alive. And, by and large, so do human beings.

The human condition is at times merciless. So, it could be that in the humbling days of Covid-19, one chooses the appropriate, i. e. reassuring, fable. Ingenuity could correct a delayed start.

Sources and Resources

Pierre Jules Stahl (éditeur) et Jean-Jacques Grandville, Vie privée et publique des animaux is [EBook #57075]
J.-J. Grandville, Les Métamorphoses du jour is an Internet Archive publication

***

Love to everyone 💕

Image publicitaire, Ets Bourcheix & fils, nouveautés, draperie, à Clermont-Ferrand

© Micheline Walker
21 Mars 2021
revised 22 March 2021
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Covid-19: Vaccination in Quebec

19 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Covid-19, Epidemic, Quebec

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

A Story, Covid-19, Long Covid, Vaccination

L’Hiver, illustration (George Barbier (illustrator) – Wikipedia)

I apologize for the delay.

An Incident

It all started when my telephone rang in the middle of the night. Someone was at the main door to the building asking me to unlock the door. He said he was delivering groceries. I let him in. It then occurred to me that he could be an intruder and that he could harm one of my neighbours. If so, it would be my fault. I dialed 9-1-1. Two police officers, a man, and a woman came to my door. I told them that I had foolishly let someone into the building and asked them to check the corridors. They didn’t check the corridors. I also told them that persons did ring the door to my apartment occasionally and then disappeared. But matters were different. This time, I had let a person enter the building.

They asked several questions, reassured me, and left. The building was quiet. The next morning, I realized that one of my neighbours had played a joke on me. Who else would know that my groceries are delivered and by whom? Later in the day, I phoned the police and spoke with a person who knew about this incident. I said that, in my opinion, a neighbour had played a joke on me. The gentleman wanted to know how I felt. I was fine. My neighbours were not the target, I was the target.

I have since wondered whether this incident is related to Covid-19. I have been inside my apartment, alone, for a year. However, someone delivers groceries once a week.

The Covid-19 Vaccine

I did leave the apartment two days ago. On Tuesday I received a letter from the government informing me personally that the vaccination programme had begun and that all I had to do was telephone the number I was given or go online to make an appointment. I dialed the telephone number and was vaccinated the following day. Covid-19 is so aggressive that all Canadians will be vaccinated before June 24, the first injection, if AstraZeneca is used. That goal is realistic for Quebec. The team is working so efficiently that several hundred persons are vaccinated in a matter of hours. The government hired a small army.

After the injection, one sits for 15 minutes and, if all goes well, one disinfects one’s hands and goes home. A gentleman called a cab for me. He made me sit comfortably while I waited and he helped me get into the cab safely.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was used. My mouth was very dry after the injection, but there were bottles of water. I was given water. I was not otherwise affected.

Long Covid

The Washington Post reports that many victims of Covid-19 who have been cured are not able to return to a normal life. I suspected this would happen. I caught the H1N1 virus in early February 1976. It triggered Myalgic Encephalomyelitis which did not relent, except for very brief periods, for forty-four years. ME ended when Covid-19 began. Long-Covid patients are vaccinated and it is reported that many patients start feeling better. Do not look upon them as malingerers.

Some long-haul covid-19 patients say their symptoms are subsiding after getting vaccines – The Washington Post

Would that awareness of complications had been present in 1976! I could handle a normal workload by going to bed early and living cautiously. But my workload grew to include too many areas of literature, and the creation of language lab components. I fell to exhaustion and was not replaced, which shouldn’t have happened. I was then maneuvered into selling my house and leaving Nova Scotia. Two years later, I was fooled into accepting an arrangement that ended my tenure without my realizing it. I still ache.

Conclusion

Let’s just say that Covid-19 has been a curse, but that the government vaccination programme is very rapid. I have not experienced adverse effects. As for my neighbours, I sent management a letter they will never forget.

Love to everyone 💕

Leonard Bernstein plays George Gershwin
La Belle aux moineaux, illustration (George Barbier (illustrator) – Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
19 March 2021
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Chronicling Covid-19, 2021

07 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in 19th-Century France, Art, Covid-19, Sharing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Édouard Manet, Covid-19, Donald Trump, sharing

Un bar aux Folies Bergère d’Édouard Manet (Courtaud Institute) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This painting by Edouard Manet is so intriguing. Where is the gentleman looking at the young woman?

However, this picture fits my topic. This post was written yesterday and it is about Covid-19. It’s incredible, but Covid remains a major threat. Yesterday, there were 2,641 new cases in the province of Quebec, revealing that some people celebrated Christmas and the New Year. One couldn’t. However, there was no demonstration against sanitary measures. Somehow, that is not the sort of thing Canadians do.

I pity the people of Washington, DC. There was a huge pro-Trump rally, which means that a thousand or thousands of people were infected. I believe they wanted life to be normal, which has been Mr. Trump’s attitude. Life is not normal and the pandemic will not end if strong measures are not taken. We must accept that there is a pandemic and stay safe. What choice do we have? I’m glad I live in Canada.

Despite the new lockdown, efforts are being made to keep street people safe. As I told you, I didn’t vote for Monsieur Legault, but I admire the way he is dealing with the pandemic. However, after ten months, Quebec still sits at the top of the list of Canadian victims, followed closely by Ontario. Many are working from home, and many are considering instituting a universal basic income. As for retired persons, it seems that pension funds are not decreasing. I keep thinking that poverty is at my door, but that is not the case.

Love to everyone and a very Happy New Year. 💕

Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe d’Édouard Manet (Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
7 January 2021
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Chronicling Covid-19 (19): the United States

15 Saturday Aug 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Covid-19, kindness

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Editors, Many thanks, Scarlatti, WordPress

My Belaud's Twin

I wish to thank WordPress. I was between a rock and a hard place. I am using not quite, but almost, the Classic editor. Content determines the choice of an editor. I could not discuss Molière using the block editor, but I can publish a simpler post. The ribbon is above. 

My dear little Belaud looked like the chartreux pictured above. However, there were more folds in his fur. He was an exquisite pet. Losing him was very painful. A chartreux’s lifespan is shorter than the lifespan of most cats.

Chartreux have not been bred. They are a natural breed. As the legend goes, Carthusian monks found these grey cats in the Middle East. They hunted rats. So the monks knew they would protect the monastery. There had been a massacre of cats that led to the black death, the plague. Cats killed rats, which helped prevent the plague. In Ireland, if someone killed a cat, there was some sort of penalty. Chartreux are very quiet and very calm.

Carthusian monks found these grey cats in the Middle East and transported several to their monastery. They were protected.

The Coronavirus

If everyone wore a mask, the number of infections caused by the novel coronavirus would fall drastically. It may be the only way to re-energize the economy.

It is also necessary for the government to ensure that people are provided with an income so they do not lose their livelihood. The cost of hospitalization due to covid-19 should also be covered. We pay taxes to be protected. Mr Trump should make sure everyone has an income.

The current situation causes stress and stress leads to illness. A weakened immune system makes an individual vulnerable. Wearing a mask should be compulsory. It’s our only protection.

If protesters claim their freedom is taken away, they should pay a huge fine. The charge would be reckless endangerment of human lives. They are also jeopardizing the well-being of the economy because the virus is kept alive.

Scarlatti – The Cat’s Fugue (L499 K30)
Anne Queffélec
, piano

Flowers by Suzor-Coté

© Micheline Walker
15 August 2020
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Quebec in the Nineteenth Century: a Beginning

22 Wednesday Jul 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in 19th Century, Canadian Confederation, Covid-19, Music

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Covid-19, Mischa Maisky, Quebec, Suzor-Côté

M.A. Suzor-Coté (1869-1937)

Still Life with Lilies by M. A. Suzor-Coté, R.C.A., 1894 (Courtesy: Galerie Klinkhoff)

suzor-cote-marc-aurele-de-foy-nature-morte-avec-des-marguerites

Still life with Daisies by Suzor-Coté

I have been trying to post an article on 19th-century Quebec. As workers tried to organize, many priests sided with the boss. Some threatened excommunication, if workers got together. A few workers were killed. In short, it’s heartbreaking.

Yet, I will write the shortest of posts. We are living and dying in the age of Covid-19. There are new outbreaks. So I want to tell you to wear a mask. It’s your only defense.

Social distancing does not work very well unless one also wears a mask. Nature has made us gregarious, so we automatically approach others.

Artist Suzor-Coté was a protégé and friend of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

Stay safe.

Love to everyone 💕

Mischa Maisky plays  JSBach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G 

copie

Suzor-Coté (Pinterest)

© Micheline Walker
22 July 2020
WordPress

 

 

 

 

 

 

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Racism in Canada: Notes

08 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Aboriginals, Canadian History, Covid-19, New France, Racism, U.S.A Elections

≈ Comments Off on Racism in Canada: Notes

Tags

Amerindians, Demonstrations, George Floyd, racism

A Métis man and his two wives, circa 1825-1826.jpg

A Métis man and his two wives, circa 1825-1826. Mikan # 2835810, Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1973-84-1

The killing of George Floyd nearly drowned the discussion about Covid-19. The current conversation is about a man who was killed by a man whose duty it was to protect him, even as he arrested him. The police have duties to everyone. Therefore, it was racism at its worst. George Floyd’s life didn’t matter.

Racism in the United States is a complex topic because the economy of the United States depended, in certain southern states, on slavery. Blacks travelled packed like sardines in the hull of a slave ship and, on their arrival in North America, they were sold. Slavery took away a person’s life. A human life belonged to the owner of a plantation, which means that life was taken away from a human being. Black lives matter. The mindset of Americans is therefore rooted in colour and status.

Racism exists in Canada. A the moment, the question is whether it is “systemic” racism (racisme structurel) or racism. Our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, says racism in Canada is systemic. At first, monsieur Legault of Quebec stated that racism in Canada is not systemic, but it seems he changed his mind. Premier Doug Ford of Ontario also believes that racism in Canada is systemic. For my part, I need to read further before I position myself. As for Dr Theresa Tam, Canada’s top doctor, she urges protesters to stay safe.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/dr-tam-s-message-to-anti-racism-demonstrators/vi-BB155XJK?ocid=msedgdhp

Because the Black in the United States were slaves, racism in the United States cannot be the same as racism in Canada. Canada’s racism may be systemic, but Canada’s economy did not depend on the work of slaves. Diamonds were not found on the shores of the St Lawrence River. Canada’s diamonds where its precious pelts at a time when men wore high beaver hats.

In other words, in the 17th century, survival in Nouvelle-France depended on agriculture and fur-trading. Logging was also important. Some houses were log cabin. It should also be noted that, in New France, settling would not have been possible without the Amerindians. Jacques Cartier the official discoverer of Canada made three trips to Eastern Canada. He first travelled to Canada in 1534. He took to France chief Donnacona‘s two sons and returned them to their father in 1535. They had learned French.

Cartier waited too long to return to France, so his ship(s) was locked into the ice and his men were rapidly dying of scurvy. Amerindians provided thuya occidentalis, white cedar rich in  On his first trip, the French could not have gone to les pays d’en haut, the countries above or to the north, as voyageurs, in particular. They needed bark canoes and, snowshoes and the guidance Amerindians could provide. A canoe could be made in a matter of hours and the French had to work with the natives. “Survival” is a keyword in the history of Canada.

The fact remains, however, that the fur trade in Canada did not preclude abuse. The French gave trinkets and alcohol to natives who were prone to alcoholism, which outraged Monseigneur Laval, François-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval (1623-1708). But their land was not taken from Amerindians.

François de Laval - Project Gutenberg eText 17174.jpg

The Bishop of Quebec

However, in the United States, settlers deprived aboriginals of the land they had inhabited for centuries, if not millennia. American natives were sent West forcibly west of the Mississippi. The Louisiana Purchase (1803) would facilitate that process. Moreover, the French had settled in New Orleans, Nouvelle-Orléans, but the population of the rest of Louisiana consisted primarily of Aboriginals. In Canada, their land was not taken from Amerindians until what is known as Confederation (in 1867), or the birth of Canada.

There was hostility between tribes which affected New France. Iroquois captured and killed a number of French-speaking citizens of New France. Iroquois also tortured and killed eight Jesuit missionaries. They are the Canadian Martyrs. To defend the citizens of Nouvelle-France, France sent le Régiment de Carignan-Salières. Le Régiment de Carignan-Salières, soldiers, who arrived in 1759, which is during the ten years or so when les Filles du Roy, the King’s wards were sent to New France.

Before the arrival of the Filles du Roy, the French resorted to marrying the natives, which explains why some Québécois have Amerindian ancestry. Métissés Québécois never formed a nation and are not recognized as Métis. Therefore, I am métissée, but I must pay my taxes, and look after myself. Québecois are considered culturally French and we identify with France. However, I am proud of my Amerindian ancestry. It makes me feel a legitimate inhabitant of the North American continent. It appears I am also a descendant of Alix de France, Eleanor of Aquitaine‘s daughter with Louis VII, a Bourbon king.

The French lost the Seven Years’ War, called the French and Indian War in North America. France had to give some of its colonies. So when Nouvelle-France was officially ceded to Britain, Amerindians feared for their lives. They were rescued by George III’s Proclamation of 1763, which did not please Americans.

Ironically, Amerindians in the what would be Canada lost their waterfront lots beginning in 1867, when four provinces of Canada when Nova Scotia, New Brunswick Québec and Ontario confederated and bought Rupert’s Land. It was land that belonged to the Hudson’s Bay Company. The HBC retained its trading posts, but Amerindians were eventually placed on reservations, a mixed blessing.

See the source image

Rupert’s Land

Louis Riel was a Métis, the most famous among Métis, and he was elected three times to Canada’s Parliament. Riel was executed on 16 November 1886 for the execution of Thomas Scott, an Orangeman (Protestant) from Ontario. The Métis thought they would participate in the creation of Canada and that it would be bilingual and Catholic, in the case of Catholic Métis. Between the Conquest, 1763, and Confederation, 1867, voyageurs were employed in the fur trade and when the beavers were nearly extant, they accompanied explorers, such as David Thomson, who married an Amerindian.

The Métis in Canada live West in or near Winnipeg and are the descendants of the voyageurs, persons who went west to collect fur from the Amerindians. But voyageurs also retired in Minnesota. When the border between Canada and the United States was traced, after the War of 1812, voyageurs trading posts were suddenly located in Minnesota, where a significant number of voyageurs retired. One of the voyageur who settled in Minnesota is Gabriel Franchère, a hero to Americans. (See Gabriel Franchère, a Hero to Americans.)

Voyageurs married Amerindians, because they could be away from Quebec for three years. Some had two wives, one west and one in Quebec. As the picture above illustrates, some had two Amerindian wives. Derek Chauvin has a French name, which suggests voyageur ancestry, but not necessarily Amerindian ancestry. Derek Chauvin has a French name. Other Métis are the descendants of the baron de Saint-Castin, who was an Amerindian chief. (See Jean-Vincent d’Abbadie, Baron de Saint-Castin.) One of my readers is a descendant of Jean-Vincent d’Abbadie, Baron de Saint-Castin.

Several Quebecers are métissés but they are not considered Métis. French-speaking Canadians identify with France, their motherland. We are culturally French, so despite our ancestry, we must pay our taxes. I like being métissée because it makes me feel that I belong just a little more than others.

a person standing in front of a computer: Chief Allan Adam of the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation.

© Global News Chief Allan Adam of the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/enough-is-enough-first-nations-chief-says-he-needed-to-tell-story-of-alleged-rcmp-beating/ar-BB158toC?ocid=msedgdhp

Northern Alberta First Nations chief alleges he was beaten by RCMP

The Blacks in Canada

Mathieu da Costa, an African-Portuguese translator, was “[t]he first Black inhabitant of Nouvelle-France. He was a member of the exploring party of Pierre Dugua, the Sieur de Monts, and Samuel de Champlain and arrived in Nova Scotia sometime between 1605 and 1608 as a translator for the French explorer Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mon(t)s. He was the first recorded free black person to arrive on the territory of today’s Canada.” (See Pierre Dugua, sieur de Mons, Wikipedia.) Mathieu da Costa died in Quebec City in approximately 1619.

Ironically, Pierre Du Gua de Mons travelled to North America in 1599 with Pierre Pierre de Chauvin de Tonnetuit who had a house built at Tadoussac. But Pierre de Chauvin probably returned to France. (See Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, Wikipedia.)

Nova Scotia has a black population some of whom are part Amerindian.

Conclusion

However, I stand by George Floyd. His colour is an accident of birth and his ancestors. The only justice is eradicating racism and the process must start at home and in schools. We must not let children bully others.

  • From the Red River Settlement to the North-West Rebellion (8 May 2018)
  • American Tragedies (8 October 2017)*
  • Walter Crane: from Slavery to Wage-Slavery (21 December 2015)
  • Jean Vincent d’Abbadie, Baron de Saint-Castin (11 September 2015)
  • Comments on Racism (2 February 2015)*
  • Freemasonry & Abolitionism  (31 January 2014)
  • Ignatius Sancho & Laurence Sterne: a Letter (14 December 2013)
  • The Abolition of Slavery (15 November 2013)
  • The Noble Savage: Lahontan’s Adario (21 October 2012)
    etc.

Kind regards to everyone. 💕

a man smiling for the camera

© Provided by The Canadian Press

© Micheline Walker
8 June 2020
WordPress

 

 

 

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Chronicling Covid-19 (18), Pause

06 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, Covid-19

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Covid-19, D-Day, Orderlies, Pause

Theresa Tam, Promoting Vaccine Confidence.jpg

Tam speaks at a 2019 World Health Assembly event in Geneva (Wikipedia)

Dr Theresa Tam

The novel Coronavirus has taken many lives in Canada, 90% of which were in Quebec and Ontario. Moreover, we have no way of knowing whether persons who have recovered will be as they were before they contracted Covid-19. I caught the H1N1 virus in early February 1976 and developed what used to be called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It is now called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Covid-19 could trigger other illnesses.

Quebec is reopening, but the number of cases is nevertheless rising though not significantly. It has been ascertained that fewer people are infected on days when rules are observed. Social distancing and wearing a face mask protect people. However, the government is testing everyone.

As you know, most of the victims were living in long-term care facilities. Premier Legault could not recruit the health care givers he needed. So he has taken action. Ten thousand individuals will be trained as orderlies. Training will be condensed, but it is not for the Armed Forces to be doctors and health workers outside the Armed Forces are working as though they had been dispatched to a mission abroad and are remunerated accordingly.

The training of orderlies cannot be delayed due to the expected second wave of Covid-19. The Government must act now. The last time I looked at figures, there were 55,000 applications. Orderlies will be paid close to $50,000.00 a year, with all fringe benefits, such as a pension plan. Moreover, the Armed Forces leave in mid-September. They were a blessing.

It would be my opinion that Premiers have worked responsibly. I did not know monsieur Legault, but the pandemic has lifted a veil. Moreover, Premier Legault has appointed a Secretary for Anglophone Affairs. We must live in harmony with one another.

This logic may seem a little a cracked, but it has occurred to me that Anglophone Canadians may wish for French-Canadians to keep their language. We owe Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Justin Trudeau’s father, an officially bilingual Canada. Later, he described Canada as multicultural.

I am now returning to the killing of George Floyd. This post is a pause.

—ooo—

According to CBC News figures, as of May 5 there were more than 62,000 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases and 4,166 people had died.

There are 93,726 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 52,143 confirmed (including 4,885 deaths, 17,098 resolved)
  • Ontario: 29,403 confirmed (including 2,357 deaths, 23,208 resolved)
  • Alberta: 7,091 confirmed (including 146 deaths, 6,611 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,058 confirmed (including 61 deaths, 995 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 648 confirmed (including 11 deaths, 608 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 287 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 284 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 256 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 136 confirmed (including 1 death, 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 93,726 (11 presumptive, 93,715 confirmed including 7,637 deaths, 51,501 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2020.

Love to everyone 💕

Gabriel Fauré‘s Cantique de Jean Racine
Conductor Paavo Järvi

Two men on an asphalt surface, behind a black van on which the letters "EAPOLIS" is seen, with a license plate ending "ICE". One man has light skin, a blue shirt with identifying badges on his chest and shoulder, black pants and boots, and black sunglasses pushed to the top of his close-shorn head. He is kneeling with his left knee and upper shin resting on the neck of the other man, and his right knee out of sight behind the van. The other man is lying prone, with his left cheek pressed against the asphalt close to a painted line. He is dark-skinned, with similarly short hair, and is not wearing a shirt; His mouth is slightly open, his eyes are closed with his eyebrows raised, and his arms are down, not visible behind the van. The kneeling man has his left hand in a dark glove, with his right arm hidden behind the van, and is looking at the viewer with his eyebrows slightly lifted and mouth slightly open.

A frame from a witness’ video, showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck (Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
6 June 2020
WordPress

45.410430
-71.910328

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

George Floyd: Racism & Covid-19

04 Thursday Jun 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Covid-19, The United States

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Covid-19, Donald Trump, four officers arrested, George Floyd, James Mattis, William Blake

James Mattis wearing a suit and tie smiling and looking at the camera: US President Donald Trump speaks as Defense Secretary James Mattis (L) looks on during a meeting with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House on October 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

© MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images US President Donald Trump speaks as Defense Secretary James Mattis (L) looks on during a meeting with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House on October 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Covid Remains

  • Covid-19
  • dividing Americans

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/news/george-floyd-protests-how-to-stay-safe-while-demonstrating-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/vi-B14Zoln?ocid=msedgdhp

Covid remains. It is the new reality and it will remain the new reality. Protesters who have taken to the streets are likely to catch the virus and spread it. Moreover, as I wrote in my last post, Mr Trump is seeing the protesters as thugs. He is not seeing them as individuals protesting an unjust death and asking that racial tensions in the United States come to an end.

I wasn’t well yesterday, and could not post anything, but I saw pictures that told a long story. The police was not allowing journalists to cover the events, which is their role. It is therefore difficult to know events precisely. We will not know who is destroying personal property. However, fatigue did not prevent me from reading.

As I feared, protesters had again taken to the streets, where no one is safe. Mr. Trump is a racist. Therefore, he wants the public to see that the protesters are thugs and will not let anyone see otherwise. This is authoritarianism, repression, bigotry and other evils I will not name. Not now. However, yesterday, The Washington Post reported that former defence secretary Jim Mattis has stated that:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/james-mattis-denounces-trump-protests-militarization/612640/

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis wrote in a statement published by the Atlantic.

“We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership,” he continued. “We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

Mr Matis is right. This president wants to put protesters in the wrong and has the press pushed away so he is the only witness and divides Americans.

Mr Floyd’s murderer is in custody, and so are his fellow officers. When Mr Floyd said that he could not breathe, fellow officers didn’t pull Derek Chauvin away from George Floyd. I wrote that a heavy foot killed Mr Floyd, but it was a merciless knee and fellow officers did not intervene. They could have prevented George Floyd’s death.

All Officers Arrested

I have now read that all officers had been arrested. As for protesters, Mr Trump will not ever see them as protesters. As noted above, however legitimate the protest, the protesters will be seen as thugs. Moreover, it has also been reported that Mr. Floyd had been infected by Covid-19. Will this be used to explain away a genuine homicide? Mr Floyd died of Covid-19. How convenient! But we know the truth.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-06-03/new-charges-expected-in-george-floyd-death

https://nypost.com/2020/05/29/george-floyds-deadly-police-encounter-

Conclusion

I will close by repeating that Donald Trump should not have been elected to the Presidency of the United States. He is not sufficiently educated. A good education is a source of freedom. It broadens the mind. One sees what one had not seen before and one can wrap one’s thoughts in words. But what Mr Trump reads is fake news, and he thinks he is under attack. He has also learned to lie.

In short, Derek Chauvin killed Mr Floyd and President Trump is failing Americans abysmally. There could be new outbreaks of Covid-19 and President Trump is distorting the truth. To this effect, he is not allowing the press from chronicling events. Fortunately, Americans can see.

The protest must be peaceful and Americans must elect to the Presidency of the United States a person who will be accountable and will not divide the United States.

In Canada,

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/protests-are-important-but-risks-of-covid-19-must-be-considered-freeland/ar-BB14Z3Bv?ocid=msedgdhp

Love to everyone 💕

Paul Robeson sings Ol’ Man River

800px-Europe_a_Prophecy,_copy_D,_object_1_(Bentley_1,_Erdman_i,_Keynes_i)_British_Museum

Europe a Prophecy (Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
4 June 2020
WordPress

45.410447
-71.910314

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Chronicling Covid-19 (17): Agnus Dei

30 Saturday May 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Agnus Dei, Coronation Mass, Covid-19, Herbert von Karajan, Kathleen Battle, Mozart, New Brunswick, the Military

Agnello di Dio, particolare della Crocefissione di Matthias Grünewald (it.wikipedia)

I have already reported that thousands of young people flouted the rules on Saturday 23 May, in Toronto. It has been suggested that the lockdown had flustered these young people. The lockdown has been difficult for all of us, but despite the gradual relaxation of confinement measures, the coronavirus remains and the young people had to obey regulations. Transmission of the novel coronavirus is rapid and, in too many cases, deadly. I hope the students will now join or cheer the people fighting Covid-19.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canada-surpasses-7000-coronavirus-deaths/ar-BB14Okk6

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/05/30/montreal–letat-durgence-renouvele-jusquau-4-juin

See the source image

Montreal (mtl.blog)

https://www.mtlblog.com/things-to-do/canada/qc/montreal/covid-19-in-montreal-sparks-balcony-concert-this-friday

The pandemic in Canada is making more victims. Quebec still leads and Premier Legault has asked the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to deploy the military. It is not altogether normal for the Military to work in long-term care facilities. Their role had to be defined.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/troops-on-pandemic-duty-to-get-benefits-paid-to-soldiers-serving-abroad/ar-BB14MClK?ocid=msedgdhp

Quebec is currently recruiting a large number of orderlies who will receive a decent salary. Their training will be condensed, the need being enormous and urgent. The province is hiring a small army of health care workers.

As you know, their syndicate negotiated for medical doctors, fees up to 2,500$ (1,635.25 Euros) per day, which the government cannot afford. Day-care is also very inexpensive in Quebec, and tuition fees are the lowest in Canada. Combined, such programmes may not be sustainable.

There are Covid-19 cases in the education system. Schools were reopened outside Montreal, but no parent should allow his or her child to attend school. It means hiring help, but help may not be too expensive. There’s no point. One infection multiplies into several infections. Although lockdowns are a form of paralysis, they may be required if citizens do not see that precautions are the freedom they possess. We need certain services and, although the governments are generous, people want to return to work.

Our Prime Minister does not want to offend others, but Canada should not open its border to the United States. Both the United States and Canada need to protect their citizens. A New Brunswick doctor travelled to Quebec and returned to New Brunswick without respecting the 14-day quarantine. He or she had to be suspended. That doctor is a possible and probable source of infection. One does not travel to Quebec, especially Montreal. It’s not safe.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/2-new-coronavirus-cases-in-nb-doctor-connected-to-outbreak-in-campbellton-suspended/ar-BB14LHIj?ocid=msedgdhp

One cannot say that the pandemic has benefits, but Covid-19 has exposed flaws in the system and monsieur Legault spoke to the press in both French and English. Both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Quebec Premier called in the military. I don’t know how Ontario doctors responded, but, to my knowledge, Quebec could not recruit the medical doctors it needed. I realize that there were risks. Yet, circumstances were and remain dire.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ford-says-hes-done-taking-bullets-for-union-members-who-wouldnt-id=msedgdhpocid=msedgdhpnspect-care-homes/ar-BB14Ipwr?ocid=msedgdhp

The world is being tested, but if we work together, all will be normal and, perhaps, better than it has been.

—ooo—

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 2:35 p.m. ET on May 30, 2020:

There are 90,161 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 50,651 confirmed (including 4,439 deaths, 16,070 resolved)
  • Ontario: 27,533 confirmed (including 2,247 deaths, 21,353 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,979 confirmed (including 143 deaths, 6,218 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,562 confirmed (including 164 deaths, 2,170 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,056 confirmed (including 60 deaths, 978 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 641 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 570 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 283 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 278 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 255 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 128 confirmed (including 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 90,161 (11 presumptive, 90,150 confirmed including 7,073 deaths, 48,068 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Love to everyone💕

Mozart’s Coronation Mass
MOZART. KARAJAN. POPE JOHN PAUL ii. CORONATION MASS. AGNUS DEI. LIVE. KATHLEEN BATTLE: Soprano. WIENER PHILHARMONIKER. 06/29/1985.

Agnus Dei, c.1635 - c.1640 - Francisco de Zurbaran

Agnus Dei de Francisco de Zurbarán (wikiart.org)

© Micheline Walker
30 May 2020
WordPress

 

45.409622
-71.911771

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...

Covid-19 (16): The Freedom we have …

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, Covid-19, The Armed Forces

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Covid-19, Flouting rules, freedom, Premier Doug Ford, Premier François Legault, Testing, The Armed Forces, Young People

Dr Li Wenliang (Photo Credit: The Standard, UK)

a group of people standing in front of a crowd: A statement released by the City late Saturday night says thousands of people packed Trinity Bellwoods Park on one of the first warm days of the year, flouting physical distancing regulations.

© Dr. Eileen de Villa / Twitter A statement released by the City late Saturday night says thousands of people packed Trinity Bellwoods Park on one of the first warm days of the year, flouting physical distancing regulations.

Looking at the photograph above, I cannot help remember earlier posts. You  may recall that once the lockdown was being lifted, Quebec Premier François Legault urged Montrealers returning to the workplace to wear a face mask. The province was about to reopen, but the virus had not gone away. A lady, a journalist I suspect, stated that the Premier, monsieur Legault, was walking a fine line. He wasn’t. I believe the lady was referring to Quebec’s Bill 21, which imposes complete secularization. But the wearing of a mask is a health measure.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens to speakers at the opening of a new Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto on Monday, May 25, 2020.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens to speakers at the opening of a new Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto on Monday, May 25, 2020.

Freedom

  • an anecdote
  • flouting rules
  • Trinity Bellwoods Park

I once told my students that they had kept me awake most of the night and that they should know better. It was frosh (first year students) week. Someone objected that students were adults and that consequently they were free.

Free, I exclaimed? First, I said that since they were adults and therefore free, I would no longer telephone campus security, but the RCMP (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Second, I explained to them that one’s freedom ended where the freedom of others began and that this they had to remember for the rest of their life.

On 23 May, thousands of sun worshippers gathered in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park defying all regulations. They did not stand at a distance from one another and they did not wear a mask, which is now recommended by Canada’s top doctor. Premier Doug Ford had to extend the state of emergency.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/trinity-bellwoods-park-to-get-painted-physical-distancing-circles/ar-BB14HWRN?ocid=msedgdhp

We were unprepared, but they knew…

When outbreaks of Covid-19 reached Canada, we were not prepared. But last Saturday, if a person did not know about aggressivity and transmissibility of novel coronavirus, that person had spent the entire lockdown in a coma. Therefore, it would be my opinion that these  young people were engaging in reckless endangerment of human life, no less. There was a flare-up, une flambée, which forced Premier Ford to extend the state of emergency. 

https://www.cp24.com/news/it-s-selfish-officials-disappointed-to-see-large-crowds-at-downtown-toronto-park-amid-pandemic-1.4951953

Canadians have received a great deal of information regarding Covid-19. At no point, did anyone say that the pandemic was over. On the contrary, Premiers and top doctors stated, in both English and French, that Covid-19 was here to stay and recommended the wearing a mask after the lockdown. It may be that Covid-19 will never go away completely. In Montreal, the situation is still critical, but I have not heard of violations of regulations. People wear their mask. In fact, persons using public transportation will be given a face mask and subways will not be crowded. It must end.

The Freedom we have …

It would be useful for people to look upon social distancing and the wearing of a mask as the freedom we have. The virus may linger, but if precautions are taken, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, doctors, opthalmologists, dentists, taxi drivers, etc. will be available. We need services. During the lockdown, nearly all services were closed. As well, thousands of people are now tested everyday.

The Armed Forces

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces were not doing what they do normally. But we could not have managed without them. They worked relentlessly in long-term care facilities, cleaning and sanitizing these facilities, and helping feed patients. Premier Legault will ask that they remain until September while CHSLDs are refurbished and air-conditioned. This is work that cannot be postponed. The province is also hiring healthcare givers for these nursing homes. The Armed Forces have now been called in Ontario where long-term care facilities are built like Quebec’s and are understaffed.

To my knowledge, no one in my building has been infected.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/military-report-reveals-what-sector-has-long-known-ontarios-nursing-homes-are-in-trouble/ar-BB14EL4s?ocid=msedgdhp

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/news/military-report-on-quebec-long-term-care-homes-released/vi-BB14GTxd?ocid=msedgdhp

Would that Dr. Li Wenliang had been heard. Instead, he was silenced, reprimanded, infected and died.

RELATED ARTICLE

  • Chronicling Covid-19 (14): The Mask (15 May 2020)

There are 87,481 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 49,139 confirmed (including 4,228 deaths, 15,319 resolved)
  • Ontario: 26,483 confirmed (including 2,155 deaths, 20,372 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,901 confirmed (including 139 deaths, 6,048 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,541 confirmed (including 161 deaths, 2,122 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,053 confirmed (including 59 deaths, 975 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 634 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 549 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 281 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 269 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 260 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 255 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 122 confirmed (including 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 87,481 (11 presumptive, 87,470 confirmed including 6,760 deaths, 46,085 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Love to everyone 💕

—ooo—

Frederica von Stade: Trois airs français

Three airs français arranged by the Norwegian musicologist Arne Dørumsgaard. From a recital in Edinburgh, 1976, with Martin Isepp, piano.

479px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_033

The Good Samaritan by Rembrandt (Wikiart.org)

© Micheline Walker
28 May 2020
WordPress

45.409608
-71.911624

Micheline's Blog

  • WhatsApp
  • Skype
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket
  • Email
  • micheline.walker@videotron.ca
  • micheline's blog

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Europa

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,358 other followers

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Recent Posts

  • Le Vent du Nord’s “Confédération”
  • Absence
  • Prince Philip has died: 1921-2021
  • Sir Karl Jenkins’ “L’Homme armé”
  • Guillaume Du Fay’s L’Homme armé
  • Why hast Thou forsaken me?
  • La Chanson du camionneur, Fred Pellerin
  • Didier Barbelivien chante “Jean de France”
  • Les Frères ennemis, again and again
  • The Human Condition in the Days of Covid-19

Archives

Categories

Calendar

April 2021
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  
« Mar    

Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • WordPress.org

micheline.walker@videotron.ca

Micheline Walker

Micheline Walker

Social

Social

  • View belaud44’s profile on Facebook
  • View Follow @mouchette_02’s profile on Twitter
  • View Micheline Walker’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View belaud44’s profile on YouTube
  • View Miicheline Walker’s profile on Google+
  • View michelinewalker’s profile on WordPress.org

Micheline Walker

Micheline Walker
Follow Micheline's Blog on WordPress.com

A WordPress.com Website.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    <span>%d</span> bloggers like this: