March Breakup

 Orlando or Bust?
   There was an article in The Globe and Mail last month with this title: "Canada's Great American Breakup: Most Now See U.S. As a Risk, Not an Ally, Poll Finds," Steven Chase, Feb. 23, 2026. "The poll, by Nanos Research  took stock of deteriorating Canadian opinions of the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump’s first year back in office.The findings suggest a profound level of distrust and a significant recasting of how Canadians see the United States."

“The environment now in Canada is very emotionally charged,” Mr. Nanos said." While some Canadians are putting elbows up, many are not putting sandals on unless they are heading to Punta Canta or Cancun. 

  There have been many articles indicating that travel to the U.S. by Canadians is down to a significant degree. Next week is  "March Break" for many and it will be interesting to see if many chose not to seek the sun, just south of our border.

You Can't Get There From Here
   One used to be able to fly from London "International" Airport directly to some U.S. locations. That is now not the case. Also, some airlines are reducing routes.
   Air Transat has decided to cut its flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. 
   WestJet is also dropping many flights. Here are some examples:

WestJet's cancelled U.S. routes include:

Atlanta (ATL) – Edmonton (YEG)

Boston (BOS) – Vancouver (YVR)

Chicago (ORD) – Edmonton (YEG)

Las Vegas (LAS) – Toronto (YYZ)

Las Vegas (LAS) – Winnipeg (YWG)

Los Angeles (LAX) – Toronto (YYZ)

Nashville (BNA) – Vancouver (YVR)

Nashville (BNA) – Winnipeg (YWG)

Orlando (MCO) – Vancouver (YVR)

Raleigh-Durham (RDU) – Calgary (YYC)

San Diego (SAN) – Vancouver (YVR)

San Francisco (SFO) – Edmonton (YEG)

San Francisco (SFO) – Vancouver (YVR)

Seattle (SEA) – Edmonton (YEG)

Seattle (SEA) – Kelowna (YLW)

  I suppose this also means there won't be as many options from those locations for Americans who might want to visit Canada. 
  One notices the changes in Canadian magazines and travel sites. The Canadian Snowbird Association's winter issue is "The Captivating Canary Islands."
  They are even noticed in RV publications, where the marketing people must be having a hard time: "Winter Magic in Ontario Parks: Firelight Hikes, Family Fun, and Frozen Trails" and "Winter Road Trips in Canada: What You Should Know Before You Go."

Sources: The West Jet cancellations are found in: "WestJet Removes 15 Transborder Routes, Cuts Summer Capacity by 19.6%," Global Media, Feb. 20, 2026. "WestJet is cutting 15 several Canada–U.S. routes as transborder demand continues to soften, leading to a significant capacity reduction for Summer 2026....
As reported, softer demand from both Canadian and U.S. travellers has dampened transborder traffic flows."
   A sample of an article discussing this downward trend is found in The Toronto Star: "Canadian Snowbirds are Avoiding the U.S. in Greater Numbers; Anger at Trump, Poor Exchange Rate Spark Big Drop for Southwest Florida," Francine Kopun, Jan.25, 2026.

Post Script:
  There are other reasons not to fly -- to anywhere. If you are over 5 tall, on WestJet, is one of them.  Also the mid-air tussles have increased along with the turbulence. With regard to the fisticuffs, I have yet to see any example when the "Plane Police" happened to be on board when problems with passengers developed: see, Air Marshals. For the rough flights read: "Buckle Up: Why Is Turbulence Getting Worse?" Burkhard Bilger, The New Yorker, March 9, 2026.

London Bicentennial (Snippet 4)

 Disaster in London -1898

Source: Daily Capital Journal, Jan. 4, 1898 (Oregon). The information below is found on Facebook, see "Vintage London, Ontario":

   "On election night in 1898, a major disaster happened at the old City Hall on the west side of Richmond St, between Dundas & King.

  A large crowd assembled on the second floor to cheer on London's new mayor-elect, Dr. John Wilson. By 9pm that evening the room was at capacity. Around 10pm a loud crack was heard as a wood support beam under the room snapped. A portion of the floor collapsed, taking with it a couple of hundred people - along with a 500 lb safe. At least 23 people were killed and 150 people were seriously injured. Many prominent Londoners were among the people killed. Various reasons were given for the collapse including blaming the crowd & poor building construction techniques."

photo source - Western Archives The Leonard Family Fonds Box X1920

London's Bicentennial (Snippet 3)

  If one goes searching for recent news about London, Ontario, the stories and reports often involve Western University and the city's robust STEM and health sciences sectors. They are usually positive. Here are a couple examples from this month.

"Jaundice; New Jaundice Research from Western University Discussed (Open-source light calibration system for hyperbilirubinemia phototherapy..."

Biotech Week, 4 March 2026.

Press Release: "Aduro Clean Technologies Announces Participation in the 38th Annual ROTH Conference"

Dow Jones Newswires, 14:00, 5 March 2026.

"Life Sciences; University of Western Ontario Researchers Discuss Findings in Life Sciences (Better data for better predictions: data..."

Life Science Weekly, 3 March 2026.

Canada Health Journal Panned - 1870 While searching for snippets for London's Bicentennial, this put-down was noticed. It is my duty to report the bad along with the good. This very harsh review is from the Medical and Surgical Reporter in the year of 1870.

Western Men's Squash Wrap-up

 The Hoehn Cup
   Back in February in "Squashing It" I noted that the squash team at Western won the OAU Championship again. I also mentioned that the team would probably be competing for the Hoehn Cup at the College Squash Association Divisional Championships. They did and perhaps they didn't do as well as expected. Although Western had been ranked higher, they lost to Franklin & Marshall. The picture and the results are provided by the victor.

#19 Franklin & Marshall 6, #18 Western Ontario 3

Kyle Broadhurst (F&M) over Daniel Deverill (Western); 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-5)

Sharan Punjabi (F&M) over Josh Kay (Western); 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 11-4)

Aditya Chandani (F&M) over Rohan Paliwal (Western); 3-2 (11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 5-11, 16-14)

William Znidarec (Western) over Toby Clegg-Petri (F&M); 3-1 (11-6, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10)

Noah Katzer (F&M) over Liam McKay (Western); 3-0 (11-3, 11-8, 12-10)

Jamie Stait (F&M) over Rio Schafer (Western); 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-5)

Akshat Agarwal (F&M) over Arin Khot (Western); 3-1 (12-10, 13-15, 11-6, 11-7)

Dylan Erb (Western) over Dean Vahlsing (F&M); 3-0 (11-9, 12-10, 13-11)

Michael Knapp (Western) over Teerth Jilka (F&M); 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-5)

  As you can see, there were a lot of good games. The teams were closely matched and Western had beaten Franklin & Marshall earlier in February. Here are the results of that match, taken again from the website of Franklin & Marshall.

 LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 18 Franklin & Marshall men's squash team (8-6) was held off in a 5-4 loss to No. 19 Western Ontario (3-6) Sunday morning in F&M's first match on the Mayser Center Squash Courts since November 23. Tied at 4-4, the Mustangs earned a 3-2 victory in the No. 8 match to secure the victory over the Diplomats.

 
#19 Western Ontario 5, #18 Franklin & Marshall 4

Daniel Deverill (Western) over Sharan Punjabi (F&M); 3-1 (11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8)

Kyle Broadhurst (F&M) over Rohan Paliwal (Western); 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-3)

Aditya Chandani (F&M) over William Znidarec (Western); 3-1 (11-3, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4)

Toby Clegg-Petri (F&M) over Liam McKay (Western); 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-1, 11-9)

Rio Schafer (Western) over Noah Katzer (F&M); 3-0 (12-10, 11-8, 11-9)

Arin Khot (Western) over Jamie Stait (F&M); 3-2 (5-11, 11-2, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6)

Akshat Agarwal (F&M) over Dylan Erb (Western); 3-2 (9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-5)

Eesa Huq (Western) over Dean Vahlsing (F&M); 3-2 (12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 5-11, 11-4)

Michael Knapp (Western) over Teerth Jilka (F&M); 3-0 (11-3, 11-3, 11-7)

Lucas Quon (Western) over Eeshan Sawant (F&M); 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8) (Exhibition)
   The Hoehn Cup was won by MIT after a tight match against Colby. Colby had defeated Western in the quarterfinals. In last year's quarters, Western defeated Colby, 7-2. It is too bad the final was not between Western and Colby since it would have been the MUSTANGS VS THE MULES. 

   For a lengthy account of UWO/Western participation in the United States see:

"UWO SQUASH AND THE U.S. COLLEGIATE SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIPS" 

MM, March 15, 2024. 

Note: I am retired from Western where I attempted to play squash. I followed the teams back then and even sold some squash racquets for Coach Fairs to help support the teams financially. The squash tradition at Western is worth noting and supporting. The information supplied in these squash-related posts is gathered by me and I am solely responsible for the content and any errors that may be found. I have never met Coach Hanebury or any of the team members, but wish them well.

London's Bicentennial (Snippet 2)

For International Women's Day

Early Feminism in London, Ontario - 1890
    An example is found in The Woman's Tribune, which is suitably situated in Beatrice, Nebraska. See the issue for Nov.8,1890. Under the heading "New Women's Papers", it notes "that new periodicals of, for and by women are springing up on every hand." 

   Ms. Wetherald is accomplished enough to have her own Wikipedia entry, from which the photograph was taken. A cursory search quickly found this: "Wives and Daughters," Isabel Campbell, The Mirror, Vol.1, No.1. 
   "Wives and Daughters" was published in London, Ontario as a monthly supplement to the London Advertiser between 1890 and 1892. Subscribers were expected to pay twenty-five cents per annum to receive it in the first year and fifty cents annually afterwards. Why and exactly when the publication folded is not known. The last known issue is Volume III, No. 1 in October of 1892 and there is no mention of the publication’s demise in it or in the London Advertiser at this time."
  The complete article is available online or in the Special Collections in the D.B. Weldon Library. It is published by the History Department at Western. 

Operation Epic Fury

 

Basic Numbers
   Given the rather operatic title of this post and the actual Operation, it will seem odd to do a bit of elementary accounting. It also may seem a bit crass to focus on the money being spent, rather than the lives being lost. But, it will be pointed out below that the thousands of technicolour explosions seen on our TV screens are expensive to produce and would strain even the budget of Paramount Skydance and the Ellisons. 
   I am as bad at accounting as I am most other subjects and am only doing this because I happened upon an article based on a list, provided by the US Central Command, of  "assets" being used to support Operation Epic Fury. The citation follows and I will present here, just a list of some of the "assets" which are well described in it: "Warships, Explosive Drones and Stealth Bombers: The High-tech Weapons and Hardware the US is Using to Attack Iran," Brad Lendon, CNN, Mar.2, 2026.
B-2 stealth bombers
LUCAS one-way drones
US warships
Patriot and THAAD missile defense systems:
Fighter jets
EA-18G Electronic Attack Aircraft
Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft (AWACS):
Airborne Communication Relay aircraft
P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft:
RC-135 Reconnaissance Aircraft:
MQ-9 Reapers:
M-142 HIMARS
Refueling assets
Cargo aircraft

   There are other assets being used and there are support assets needed for support for the assets, which also need support.
   One is reminded of Rumsfeld's remark, "because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know."
It was made back when Iraq was the issue and the Department of War operated under the dainty name of the Department of Defense.

   Although the costs of employing and maintaining the assets are not provided in the article mentioned, I did find a piece, from which we can know some of the costs involved. It is: " Aircraft Carriers and Stealth Bombers are Expensive to Use," Ryan Cooper, The American Prospect, March 3, 2026.

   Let's just look at the B-2s. The first article provides these data relating to the last time the U.S. totally destroyed the Iranian nuclear bases.

   "The bat-winged bombers, priced at more than a billion dollars each, are the most potent platform in the US Air Force. Powered by four jet engines, the B-2 can carry conventional or nuclear weapons, with intercontinental range and aerial refueling. Piloted by a crew of two, the B-2s usually fly from their home at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, as they did last year when they struck Iranian nuclear complexes in a 34-hour round-trip mission. That mission last June was undertaken by seven of the 19 B-2s in the fleet, with others used for a feint trip to Hawaii. They used the biggest of the US conventional bombs – the 30,000-pound massive ordnance penetrator – to attack three Iranian nuclear sites." The Cooper piece supplies the numbers US taxpayers will be interested in, especially those taxpayers who are "America Firsters: "CNN compiled a partial list of the ships and planes being used in the bombing campaign. They include B-2 bombers (about $88,000 per hour to operate), F-15 fighters ($25,000 per hour), F-16 fighters ($14,000 per hour), F-22 fighters ($56,000 per hour), F-35 fighters ($17,000 per hour), F-18 fighters ($25,000 per hour), E/A-18G electronic warfare planes ($20,000 per hour), P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance planes ($9,000 per hour), plus several other manned planes, and a large number of drones, all using up an untold amount of fuel and ordnance. All this air power is operating from two full-scale carrier strike groups, each of which costs something like $8 million per day to operate. The military is also chewing through its supply of Patriot ($4 million per shot) and THAAD ($13 million per shot) missile interceptors so fast that it is reportedly considering stripping South Korea of some of its missile defense batteries." The Missouri to Iran round-trip flight for one B-2 is about 34 hours at $88,000 per hour. President Trump and many MAGAS don't trust CNN, the source for some of these numbers, but that may change now that it is owned by the Ellisons. I am sure they have more faith in the Wall Street Journal, but it also reports that all this locking and loading is not cheap:

"Repositioning U.S. military forces to the Middle East before U.S. and Israeli strikes began on Saturday is estimated to have cost taxpayers about $630 million, according to Elaine McCusker, a top budget official at the Pentagon during the first Trump administration who is now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute think tank. Moving more than a dozen ships and flying more than 100 aircraft to the region accounts for the bulk of cost, McCusker said. It's likely that these costs incurred before the strikes started could be absorbed by the Pentagon's $839 billion budget appropriation for fiscal 2026, she said.Now that strikes have begun, those costs will increase to account for warplane sorties, aerial refueling, and replacement of the munitions used, McCusker said."

The Bonus: "Friendly Fire" It was also the Wall Street Journal that reported that the three jets shot down by the Kuwaitis cost more than $30 million each. "Kuwaiti Jet Fighter Mistakenly "Downed U.S. F-15s, Initial Reports Say...", by Marcus Weisgerber, Lara Seligman, WSJ, March 4, 2026 and "How Much Does an F-15 Jet Fighter Cost?", Georgi Kantchev, WSJ, March 2, 2026: "The three U.S. F-15 jet fighters mistakenly shot down in Kuwait come at a steep price. The F-15E Strike Eagle model, which the U.S. said was involved in the incident, costs $31.1 million, according to a U.S. Air Force fact sheet. That price uses 1998 constant dollars, meaning its value would be higher in today's money. The F-15E Strike Eagle is a fighter introduced in the 1980s and designed to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Newer models of the F-15 aircraft cost close to $100 million.

Source:
  The graphic at the top is from: the Anadolu Agency, about which I know nothing:

"US Offensive on Iran Burned Through an Estimated $779M On First Day," Efe Ozkan, AA, 04/03/2026. 
  For those of you suspicious about some of the sources above, here is a document from the US government, back before the wimpy Department of Defense was renamed. 
SUBJECT: Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Department of Defense (DoD) Fixed Wing and Helicopter Reimbursement Rates effective October 1, 2024. The attached FY 2025 DoD fixed wing and helicopter reimbursement rates are now available on the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) (OUSD(C)) website:

 

London's Bicentennial (1826-2026)

    This year, London has been around officially for 200 of them. The following information about the events planned is from this website, where you can learn more: Celebrating 200 Years: London's Bicentennial: 
   "In 2026, London is officially marking 200 years since its founding in 1826. This timing follows historical precedent: in 1926, London celebrated its Centennial, and the London & Middlesex Historical Society confirms that 1826 is recognized as the year London was formally established. As we prepare for this once-in-a-generation celebration, 2026 is the year we come together to honour London’s history, growth, and future."

The website says to "get involved", so I will.  During the year, I will attempt to present frequent posts about London. They will be short snippets and here is the first one.

  The photograph is found in the London Public Library and is part of the London Room Digital Collections. Here is some of the description provided:
    "Two similar side by side black and white photographs mounted on card, showing a standing woman in profile and three young girls seated at the water's edge looking towards three people in row boats and four people wading in the Thames River at the Forks. On the opposite bank two riverboats are tied to the dock. In the right background is the courthouse and jail. In the left background notice the tower for the Ontario White Sulphur Springs and Mineral Baths. Printed on the back of the card: [Barron's Artistic Series of Canadian Views; London, Springbank, and Vicinity.] Also handwritten: [Showing Thames R. & Jail Turrets.] ca. 1880s 
[I only took one side of the photo which is probably from a stereoscope.]