Saturday, December 7, 2024

BIG Mouth

Top 7 ways to help Earth be more habitable

Some of you might see this list as self-serving – and you would be correct – but I think it also serves the other 7,943,412,999 people on the third rock from the Sun. BIG Media's Top 7 Ways to Help Earth Be More Habitable: Reduce consumption of natural and unnatural resources. We in the developed world are reducing our per-capita energy use, but we have a LONG way to go – Climate change and energy:...

What we forgot about the Spanish flu

“Progress depends on retentiveness. hen experience is not retained, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana Many of the policy responses to COVID-19 in the United States, Canada, and much of the rest of the world have been more a series of wobbly missteps than a steady march on the road to victory. The resulting stumbles occurring over the last two years are neither new nor...

Science – there is method to the madness

“Trust the science!”  It is a rallying cry heard frequently these days intended to signal truth, intelligence, and righteousness. Whether in climate change discussions or pandemic responses, energy posturing or political systems, it seems the mere mention of “science” implies incontestable and definitive proof. That is ironic, considering science itself is based on observation, theory, models, and inferences, all of which can contain significant uncertainty. Imagine a simple scientific experiment to determine the boiling point of...

It’s time to have the talk about the wolves and the sheep

It used to be that the most important conversation to have with your children was the birds and the bees. However, that topic has been far surpassed by the wolves and the sheep. Sheep are so darn cute and fuzzy, but they are not very smart (the attached video link should serve as irrefutable evidence on this point), and are therefore easy prey. Wolves are cunning and vicious. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother were no match...

Following the news no longer equates to being well informed

It used to be that someone who consistently followed the major news broadcasts was considered "well informed". Nowadays, those who take the news at face value are dreadfully misinformed. Fake news is all too common these days. For example, on Feb. 24, it was widely reported that 13 Ukrainians defending Snake Island were slaughtered after reportedly telling Russians aboard an approaching warship to "Go f--- yourself!" What a sad but inspiring story! The remarkable story was attributed...

Restrictions, rights, and the rule of law

We are fast approaching two years since the world was turned upside-down by the COVID-19 pandemic. It seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. I remember being in Edmonton, Alberta, to speak at a construction law conference in early March 2020. By this time, there had been increasing talk of a novel coronavirus that had emerged in China, and had made its way to North America, with a few stops on the...

Top 10 topics we covered better than anyone

Yeah, you are right – that's a pretty cocky headline. But, ironically, the reason I can say such a thing is because we at BIG Media practise intellectual humility. We listen more closely to our critics than our fans. And we employ the scientific method in our work, constantly trying to prove ourselves wrong as we assemble our content. If you can find another media outlet that covered any of these topics more accurately and with more...

Top 5 expressions that really need to die

I have noticed that a lot of people are still using expressions related to the current health crisis that are, like, so 2021. So I present to you today the TOP 5 PHRASES THAT SHOULD BE ELIMINATED FROM THE COMMON VERNACULAR: 5. "I am doing this not for me but for you."  –  BS! Unless your name is Mother Teresa or Gandhi, please stop pretending to be a superhero selflessly looking out for the rest...

Crisis leadership – transparent decision making and building trust

Being trustworthy is one of the key indicators of leadership success and a fundamental element of successful relationships between leaders and followers. When leaders are considered trustworthy, they unlock co-operation and increase openness and mutual acceptance with those they wish to lead. In assessing government leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems trust levels have dropped. Two polls conducted in May of 2021 in the U.S.and Canadaindicated that faith in government is deteriorating. The U.S....

Truth be told – BIG Media marks first birthday

One year ago today, we went live with what we intended to be a very trustworthy source of news as well as a site at which members could engage in constructive, respectful discussion. It has been no walk in the park, but I believe we have accomplished those objectives. I will start with my most sincere THANK YOU: to my brilliant business partner Laurie Weston, who added an important level of intelligence to my idealistic ambition...