PONDERABLES
Will artificial intelligence be our salvation or our ruin?
What would we have thought if we were told in 1989 that by the year 2019 most typing would be done with our thumbs?
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
Whenever politicians start by saying “let me be clear,” they’re about to spin something in their favour
We had a miniature poodle that had a larger vocabulary than President Trump.
MORE TRUDEAU INTERNATIONAL EMBARRASSMENTS
Justin Trudeau got off to a horrendous start in his first appearance on the international stage since his election in October as the prime minister of Eastern Canada. It happened last Tuesday at the NATO conference in London.
First there was the tag-team press conference with Donald Trump, who was expected to rake Trudeau over the coals for the level of Canada’s monetary contribution to NATO. But Trump was surprisingly gentle and lobbed an easy question Trudeau’s way, asking, “What are you at at? What is your number?” Trudeau didn’t know and had to turn to his aides for the answer. That he wasn’t ready for a question that was certain to arise is truly astonishing.
Shortly after, during a cocktail party at Buckingham Palace, Trudeau was caught on camera showing off in front of some other leaders and Princess Anne by mocking Trump, an embarrassing gaffe that was equally astonishing. Anyone who loves cameras and microphones as much as Trudeau should clearly have known better than to mock the over-sensitive Trump in what amounted to an open forum.
When Trump learned of Trudeau’s insult he did tear a strip off him, including calling him two-faced. Getting caught in such a stunt was typical Trudeau narcissism. Add the number of times Trudeau embarrassed us internationally during his last term in office and one could be excused for wondering if he should be asked to surrender his passport.
THEN THERE’S ANDREW SCHEER
Andrew Scheer can put on as brave a face as he wishes, deny that there’s a schism in the Conservative ranks as often as he wants, and insist that all is well from now until the cows come home (which, at the latest, will be during his party’s leadership review in April), but the fact is he’s a dead man walking. With each passing day it becomes more painful to watch his pitiful assertions. He should give Conservatives an early Christmas present and resign right now.
MARC CRAWFORD’S TURN
I suggested last week that more former and current NHL coaches would be joining Mike Babcock and Bill Peters in the NHL version of the Me Too movement. Chicago assistant coach Marc Crawford was the target this week. Blackhawks management placed Crawford on leave while they investigate an allegation by former NHL player Sean Avery. Avery claims that about a decade ago, when they were both with the L.A. Kings, and after Avery had taken a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty that resulted in a goal against, Crawford gave him a kick in the ass that, even through his hockey pants, left a mark on his buttock.
I have a tough time picking a side in this one. Sean Avery may be the most despicable player who ever laced on a pair of skates. The dislike I had for Marc Crawford the player escalated considerably for Marc Crawford the coach. Two incidents in particular stand out.
At the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Crawford made, if not the worst coaching decision in the history of hockey, certainly the most puzzling, when he didn’t use Wayne Gretzky during a shoot-out loss to the Czechs. The second concerns whatever role Crawford played in Todd Bertuzzi’s unconscionable and unprovoked attack on Steve Moore during a Vancouver/Colorado game on March 8, 2004., an attack that injured Moore to the point where he never played again and whose quality of life was seriously impaired.
REFRESHING HONESTY
I had an eye examination a couple of weeks ago during which I asked the ophthalmologist which brand of eye drops I should buy to treat my dry eye condition. “Whichever is on sale,” she answered with a knowing smile.