And the Rest of It

Ahem:

 Forced sterilization in Germany was the forerunner of the systematic killing of the mentally ill and the handicapped. In October 1939, Hitler himself initiated a decree which empowered physicians to grant a "mercy death" to "patients considered incurable according to the best available human judgment of their state of health." The intent of the socalled "euthanasia" program, however, was not to relieve the suffering of the chronically ill. The Nazi regime used the term as a euphemism: its aim was to exterminate the mentally ill and the handicapped, thus "cleansing" the "Aryan" race of persons considered genetically defective and a financial burden to society.

So:

Senators have voted to give the federal government 18 months to expand access to medical assistance in dying to people suffering solely from mental illnesses.

They voted 57-21 Tuesday to amend Bill C-7, which proposes an explicit, blanket prohibition on assisted dying in cases involving only mental illness but would expand access to other intolerably suffering people who are not near the natural end of their lives.

The amendment puts an 18-month time limit on the mental illness exclusion, intended to give the federal government, along with provinces, territories and medical associations, time to come up with appropriate guidelines and safeguards.

There are no safeguards.

We are killing people off because they are sick and we are doing it for fun.

#WeareallSophieScholl

But ... but ... equality!:

The Canadian Armed Forces will never achieve equity hiring targets at current rates, says a military journal. Department of National Defence research has showed visible minorities and immigrants considered military careers a “last resort.”

We have a legal system but not a justice one:

A Toronto-area drunk driver who killed three children and their grandfather in a crash that captured national attention was granted full parole Tuesday, as officials stressed the need for ongoing counselling regarding substance abuse and other issues.

The decision was made as Marco Muzzo, 34, appeared before the Parole Board of Canada in a remote hearing that also heard the victims’ grieving relatives describe the ongoing trauma from the 2015 crash.

The man who fell to Earth ... or something:

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is going to become a novelist. Random House Canada has announced it will publish his debut novel, The Apollo Murders, on Oct. 12 this year, with simultaneous release in Britain and the United States.

The fictional thriller will be set on board Apollo 18 on the far side of the moon in 1973. In real life, manned missions to the moon stopped in 1972 with the return of Apollo 17, although there were originally plans for three more landings, and the would-be, unflown Apollo 18 lander can be seen at the Cradle of Aviation museum in New York.

The Darwinian struggle is real:

A woman who became internet famous after she revealed she used Gorilla Glue instead of hairspray — and hasn’t been able to wash it out for a month — may finally get a reprieve as a plastic surgeon has reportedly offered to remove the product for free.