The Province of Ontario released a publication explaining their poorly articulated referendum for a new mixed member proportional electoral system with only one clearly understandable statement as follows: “Referendums do not happen often. When they do it is because the opinion of the public, you the voter, is important.”  If I understand those two sentences correctly regardless of the system used or the party elected the opinion of you the voter is not often important.

In August, Scientific Institutes in the U.S. and Japan confirmed that the Arctic Ice coverage has shrunk to its smallest size ever recorded even as there was still at least another month of melting left to go this summer.  One expert predicted that the world could witness a complete summer melt within 25 years (2032).

I stumbled over an old book about the Chinese Opium Wars (1839 to 1842 and 1856 to 1860 respectively). But for 150 years and few small changes to the hot commodities and issues of the day, the story and events parallel and/or explain much of the world as we know it today.  In short, Britain was experiencing a debilitating trade deficit with “China.”  The British were addicted to “tea” imported from China, but although Britain was hot off it’s industrial revolution and mass producing everything under the sun for trade with the rest of the world, China was not interested in anything the British had to trade. Then the Brits “liberated” the Indian Subcontinent and their poppy fields and soon discovered that the Chinese had a sweet tooth for opium.  Before the Chinese knew it, they had a very big problem that was growing as fast as the trade deficit was turning in favor of the Brits.  Although the opium trade was considered illegal both in Britain and in the World Courts, attempts by the Chinese to shut it down led to a declaration of war by the Brits based on exaggerated pretenses. The 2^nd Opium War was declared over the same issues but on even shakier pretenses (i.e. bald faced lies).  The French and to a lesser extent the Americans joined the Brits in this enterprise that proved to be much more difficult than they had originally planned.

Related revelation:  As we gathered up around our tree on Christmas morning I took stock of the origins of our newfound material wealth.  The only item that was not made in China was a pair of Bone “China” mugs that were made in …Britain.  Go figure – the world has come full circle and China is back on top (while the rest of us are left wondering what to do with our liberated poppy field problem).