Stupid commentary on Canada as "the 51st state"-- the sad state of journalism

I am disgusted with the stupid commentary on Trump's malicious teasing on Canada as the 51st state.

I am almost willing -- ALMOST WILLING -- to cut the American commentators a break. After all, Canada is a big country with lots of regional variations. But really, guys and gals, how can you not know that CANADA IS A BIG COUNTRY WITH LOTS OF REGIONAL VARIATION? It's right next door! You don't have to go to Addis Ababa to figure out what's going on. (On the other hand, if you go to Toronto you might meet some interesting and intelligent Ethiopians who can give you a clue).

But the Canadian commentators are equally lame. They should be pointing out to their audiences some basic facts that make this 51st state nonsense ridiculous on the face of it--if anyone bothered to look at said face. For instance:

Canada is made up of 10 provinces and 3 territories. Somebody is going to bundle these into one state?

Canadian provinces have important constitutional powers. Do you think any of them would be willing to give them up?

Quebec -- Quebeckers can barely tolerate being one of ten provinces,the French-speaking one, the rest being basically English-speaking. Francophone Quebeckers can barely tolerate being outnumbered as is. It doesn't take much to imagine how unpopular this idea would be.

Regional cultural differences--say Alberta v Ontario. HA HA HA HA HA.

It's sad, sad, sad, sad that such basic issues hardly come up.

Charlie Angus should be Prime Minister of Canada--see why I say this

I have been steering away from commentary on the march of fascism around the world because there is plenty of reportage on specific events and policy arguments. I don't comment unless I think something is really important but not getting the appropriate attention.

Well, here is something that people interested in US-Canadian relations, Trump's tariff threats and Canadian reactions, and the perfidy of the Conservative Party, federally and provincially. If think you are not directly affected by any of these issues, you may be wrong.

The best and smartest account of these issues is a speech by Charlie Angus, the New Democratic Party MP for Timmins-James Bay. This is a huge electoral district with hardly any people. If you look at a map you can see how it might be an atypical district. Put in the fact that mining is important and that indigenous people are a big factor. It's a place where a serious, intelligent odd-ball (compared to usual politicians) can be elected. The speech can be seen here the Meidas Touch channel on YouTube; you can see an interview with Charlie here/a>.

Astounding fact -- imagine Ethiopia with twice the population of Russia

At Foreign Policy Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes argue that Putin's concern with Russia's projected depopulation is an import factor in his motivation for his invasion of Ukraine. In making their argument they site this astounding "fact" (which admittedly is a projection):

Today, Russia defines its national security by the size of its population, not the extent of its landmass. Putin understands that, in the world of tomorrow, Russia will be a territorial giant and population dwarf. Russia’s population will not only be much smaller than the populations of India, China, or the United States but also one-half of Ethiopia’s and one-third of Nigeria’s. For Putin, this population decline translates into an irreversible loss of power. As he stated in 2020, “Russia’s destiny and its historic prospects depend on how numerous we will be.”/

I'm used to thinking of Nigeria as a big deal because of its population, but the idea that a future Ethiopia may be twice the population of Russia astounds me (but not my wife who says "they [the Russians] all live in St. Petersburg [and the rest of Russia is empty]."

I will definitly have to pay more attention to Ethiopia.

Image: a crowd in Ethiopia

Norwegian Butter Spoons -- link fixed

Back on December 1 I urged you to read this essay, then did not include a link to it. Well, it should have a link at the>December 1 post, and here. I cannot express what a unique piece of writing this is.

The dangers of too much scholarship

Bjorn Weiler reports on Matthew Paris's view of the dangers of approaching schoarship in the wrong spirit:

, scholarly curiosity pursued as an end in itself, unrestrained and unguided by a desire to be useful, posed a grave danger to the writer’s chances of redemption and salvation. This, at least, is the thrust of two episodes recorded in the Gesta abbatum and the Chronica respectively. The Gesta’s account of the abbacy of William of Trumpington (1214–35) includes the monitory example of Alexander de Langley, keeper of the abbot’s seal. Alexander had obtained his position by his skill in rhetoric (he had once written a most elegant letter to the pope). However, Alexander began to study in an almost manic fashion, became arrogant, and went insane. He was eventually whipped for his transgressions and transferred to a remote dependency of St Albans, where he died a miserable and lonely death. 45

Matthew Paris was a thirteenth-century monk, historian, and illustrator.

Matthew Paris shows Louis I of France crossing to England to support the English barons.

Angela Merkel's memoir Freedom

I found this review by Timothy Garton Ash fascinating, probably because of my ignorance of this important figure. I recommend it.

Extelligence: Norwegian butter spoons, cold sled rides in Minnesota, and love

I decided to pass this around because I undoubtedly have friends interested in butter spoons. Then I found out thatthe essay has so much more. It's written by Some Guy and forwarded from Catheiuine.

80 Million!

On the CBC's program "The House" a government official high up in border enforcement said that he expects that 80 million people will come to Canada in the upcoming year (most of them normal visitors). But 80 million!

That's twice the official population of the country! Doesn't that give you a different view of what "population" means?

And if there are really that many visitors, what are the chances that every other person you pass walking down the street is one?

Of course, if a Windsorite crosses the border to buy cheaper gas or attend a concert, how does this person count?

Image:Detroit and Windsor in one pic. Yes, it's busy but it's not exactly swarming ...

David Kurtz of TPM reacts to the Trump victory

TPM is one of the best sources for American politics. If you have to read something about the Trump victory, read this.

My summary would be, that America is not perhaps what you thought it was.

Happy Halloween: LDN 43

From NASA:

Carolingian Civilization: Marginal?

That's the title of an undergraduate research paper I wrote for Richard Sullivan at Michigan State in 1971 or 1972. The paper is still around somewhere, but I can't put my hands on it, and I don't remember how I answered the question. I am writing a survey of the Middle Ages and I've got up to the 8th century. That means I've got to wrestle with the significance of Pepin and Charlemagne.

The manuscript so far focuses the creation of new communities (through conquest mainly) and religious movements that sometimes changed the whole cultural and political scene. Charlemagne is obviously significant in both aspects, but it is easy for me to see him as one of the most successful warlords (emphasis on war). Of course that's far from being the sum total of Charlemagne. I have already included in my outline a section called "Ruling Like an Emperor" as opposed to ruling like a king. Kings were a big deal but Emperors, and Caliphs for that matter, had a wider conception of their powers and responsibilities. (See "Mandate of Heaven.") So I was sensitive to that dimension of Charlemagne before I read today's review by Francesco Veronese of Rankin, Susan. Sounding the Word of God: Carolingian Books for Singers. Conway Lectures in Medieval Studies. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2022. Pp. 490. $95.00. ISBN: 978-0-268-20343-6.

The review is in the extraordinarily useful Medieval Review, which is distributed digitally. This allows reviewers to write long reviews if they think it appropriate, and encourages them to introduce the field they are discussing to people who know little or nothing about it. I would never take the time to read a book on Carolingian books for singers, but Professor Veronese begins his review by showing that there is a lot to learn from this aspect of this "marginal civilization."

The calls for the improvement of the morality and the religious practices of Christian society voiced by Carolingian rulers, as well as the resulting struggles made by local communities to achieve those improvements, have been the objects of hot debate and intense scholarly work in recent years. What was once perceived as an essentially top-down, royally-driven endeavour aiming at the establishment of standardized texts, beliefs, and practices for the devotional and religious life of the whole Carolingian world, especially by the means of authoritative texts mostly of Roman origins, is now understood and described in very different ways. [1] Standardization and homogeneity were never fully accomplished, and most probably never were the goal pursued by all those involved--in the first instance, the rulers. The Carolingian kings were more concerned with establishing a general consensus around the idea that religious things needed to be done better in order to win and maintain God’s approval toward his people and its rulers. Everyone’s eternal salvation was at stake. The Christian faithful entrusted to the spiritual care of the Carolingians were to be properly taught about the pillars of their faith, the practices they were to perform during rites, the very words they were to hear and say, and their correct meaning. Those intellectuals closest to kings actively promoted and spread models that could be used locally to improve liturgical practices and amend texts, but these models were never formally imposed as the only authoritative and acknowledged ones by the royal power. Negotiations and crossings between them and previous local traditions could bring about very different results and solutions. This is the reason why, despite a strong emphasis by Carolingian authors on an ideal authority attributed to Roman texts (or texts presented as coming from Rome), Roman liturgy, texts, and books were always only one of the possibilities available and accepted for the performance of Christian rites in the Carolingian world. As long as the words of Scripture and the key concepts of the faith were correctly transmitted to the people by a spiritual army of well-trained priests, the practicalities of how all of that was done were the matter of local, even individual choice.

Don't you feel smarter already?

"If Jimmy Carter can vote early, you can too."

Kamala Harris said this. It was Jimmy Carter's 100th birthday.

An enlightening essay on economics for people like me

What do I mean by "people like me?" Well, I am someone who understands the importance of economics (in my case, for history) but don't really understand the methodologies. In fact, I'm skeptical. When someone uses the population of Vietnam in 1500 as one datapoint in a world-wide analysis of development outcomes, I wonder where on earth they got their numbers. Also I bailed out of math at an early stage. I don't understand the significance of log and why it helps solve certain kinds of problems.

Noah Smith is an economist who writes interesting things, mostly on contemporary problems, and he has written a long piece on what is the appropriate standard for winning the Nobel Economics Prize is. In doing so he says a lot about the state of the field.

If this interests you, have fun.

Correction; and my silence

My post on the profound essay On the Abolitionism of the Ancients somehow lacked a link. I've corrected it. I have plenty to say on current politics but it doesn't include any startling insights. Everybody who cares has access to the same information that I do; everyone knows what is at stake. So I am not going to waste my time. When I have something to say that might be otherwise overlooked, I'll tell you.

An amazing rescue of a famous and important work of art

Many of you know Albrecht Durer's engraving "The Knight, Death and the Devil." I'm having trouble finding an image I can copy, but you can see an excellent version at Medievalists.net. It's glorius, even on an average computer screen. One wonders what it looks like in person.

The reason Medievalists.net is interested is that this masterpiece of 16th century art recently was sold for a lot of money. The money doesn't interest me; its the backstory.

There are various copies of this engraving around, but this one seems to be done by Durer himself. The reason we have it is that some years ago a woman pulled up to an English garbage dump and started emptying her car of stuff she didn't want, including this engraving (My initial feeling on reading this was anger. Who could do this? But I've learned that there is always more to a story than the headline.)

Luckily there was an 11-year-old boy presentwho made a habit of checking out the dump for unloved treasures and he asked if he could have it. He's no longer 11 and he's sold it. We who appreciate art are richer for it.

I realized that I have never thought about the significance of this image. I understand that Durer did not invent this image -- he just created the most lasting version. As a historian of chivalry, I really should look into it.

On the Abolitionism of the Ancients

This is one of the most compelling things I have ever read. I got this from Brad deLong; I am not sure who Homo Sum is.

Kent State

I'm avoiding politics as much as I can, but the Kent State shootings were an important event in my life (though I wasn't there). p> If you are interested, see this post at TPM.

Moonbows

Back when this blog was new, indeed when blogging was new, I used to post pictures of astronomical wonders. I got out of the habit. But today Space.com posted a picture by Aaron Watson of a double moonbow.

Did you know South Korea has put two orbiters around the moon? I didn't!